Wrath of The Lich
by da br0909
Summary: "For those who want to live again, for those who see the world end. For those who want the sun to die, for those who live for people's cry. For those who want his reign to start, then plunge the sword into his heart. All hail The Lich King!"
1. Liberation

Henry was an aspiring wizard in Wizard City. He specialized in summoning portals and reading minds. After he was kicked out of his school for practicing on citizens, Henry strived for a way to grow his powers. Then, one day, he came across Finn the Human. As the lone surviving human passed Henry, he noticed something fall out if his green pack. Something shiny. Henry wasn't the nicest wizard in Ooo, so he took the artifact for himself. He soon discovered after hours of research that the red, glowing gem was an item that enhanced the powers of magic. Eager to test his magic with the help of the gem, Henry brought all of his magical supplies with him to a secluded section of forest to practice.

The wind was blowing when Henry took the stone in his left hand. He gripped the gem with all of his might and began speaking an unknown, magical language.

"_Molo Ka A Shah Portal_!" shouted Henry. His cries echoed across the forest, as a large portal opened in front of him. Stepping into the portal, Henry noticed that he had entered a section of Ooo that he had never been to. He was surrounded by multi-colored streaks of light and an expansive field of rainbow grass. Off into the distance, Henry saw a bright, luminous flash of white light. As he slowly wandered to the flash, Henry took in his surroundings. The sky was filled with many moons and planets and the stars were constantly moving. Henry started to wonder if he was in Ooo at all.

Henry began to feel tired. He had walked a long distance and was beginning to think that the light he saw was a figment of his imagination. Then, he came upon a large set of steel bars. He found that the bars were acting as walls, like it was a large prison cell. Henry felt the hairs on his neck straighten when he looked up and saw the massive figure the bars were containing.

It seemed like a colossal skeleton with a cloak draped across his shoulders. The skeletal monstrosity turned to face Henry. Its head was covered in a hood, and its eyes looked ancient and powerful. He recognized the creature almost instantly as The Lich.

Henry turned to run, but the voice in his head told him that there was nothing to fear. He turned back around to face The Lich again. This time, the demonic figure seemed comforting to be around. Little did Henry know that The Lich was slowly creeping into his mind. The Lich was now in full control of Henry. Henry stood awestruck at the presence of the scourge of Ooo. The Lich told Henry to kneel, and he obeyed. Henry's mind was filled with visions of violence, death, and destruction. The Lich knew that he had the perfect opportunity to escape his prison and take his revenge against Finn the Human and his friends.

The Lich spoke with a thunderous voice, "Henry," his voice full of hatred and anger, "I need you to take my place in this cell."

"How do I let you out?" questioned Henry. There was a tiny voice at the back of his head telling him to leave, but his words were too soft to reach his own ears.

"Say the words _Inferno Lock Exquibus Leech."_ The Lich had studied his cell for years and had discovered its magical weakness. Henry had to take his place so that the cell would take more time to notice The Lich's absence.

"_Inferno Lock Exquibus Leech._" Henry stated, the blackness in his mind consuming his conscience. He was teleported into the massive cell and watched as The Lich headed towards Henry's portal. The massive skeleton ducked into the portal and laughed as he closed the rift.


	2. Back from the dead

***AUTHOR'S NOTE* I thought that the first chapter was too short, so I'm making this chapter longer to compensate. I'm also going to bring the focus to our heroes because they really didn't play a large role in the first part. As always, leave a rating (criticism is welcome), enjoy, and do what you will.**

Finn and Jake wandered into the Candy Kingdom, fresh off of their recent adventure. They had raided an old dungeon with lots of artifacts and they were wondering if PB could help discover their meanings. Finn and Jake were famous across all of Ooo because of the many times they saved it from destruction. In fact, they didn't even need to show I.D. for the banana guards as they had grown such an extensive reputation.

As they walked their way up to the princess's lab, Finn smelled the familiar scent of arothomia, they dangerous chemical PB created to enhance the effects of her other creations. As the brothers entered the lab, they couldn't help but notice that it was unnaturally clean. Every kind of test tube was categorized with another test tube of similar shape and size. This was unusual because PB always left her things where she left them, do she could begin where she left off. As they wandered farther into the room, they could hear snores coming from the far end of the room. Expecting to find the sleeping princess, they instead found a speaker playing the snores over and over again. The princess was obviously gone, but didn't want anybody to know.

Princess Bubblegum was wandering the forest with a backpack stuffed with scientific equipment and a portable monitor in her hand. She was in her laboratory when her seismic graph spiked for a couple of seconds. She decided to investigate the disturbance. She knew that she would never be allowed to leave the Candy Kingdom alone, at night, so she put a speaker at the back of her lab playing her snores on loop. Her graph wasn't finding any unordinary readings, and was thinking of returning when her seismic monitor spiked again. She started running towards the signal when she was abruptly stopped when she ran into an obstacle in her way.

"Ow," exclaimed the Princess, "What's wrong with you?"

"There is nothing wrong with me," said the figure, obviously faking its voice, "You ran into me."

"Marceline, quit with the act." Replied Bubblegum, "You're the only person who'd follow me into the woods at night."

"I'm sorry for showing concern, Bonnibel." Sarcastically replied the Vampire Queen, "When it looks like my friend is running off into the woods, I'm going to ask her what's up."

"If you really want to know, I received a severe seismic spike on my radar. I combined the neural fluxious indispacious wire with the readings wire in order to track the signal."

"You lost me at 'neural fluxy blah blah."

"Whatever Marceline, just leave. I'm doing important scientific research."

"No, I want to come with." Rebutted Marceline "It sounds exciting."

"Ugh, fine. You can come with-"

"Awesome!" interrupted the Vampire Queen.

"-as long as you don't hinder my research."

Just as PB finished talking, her monitor spiked for a third time. Then, the sky grew darker, and the clouds turned an ominous green color. While both girls stared at the sky, a pillar of green smoke and fire rose into the sky. PB started shaking uncontrollably, as she knew exactly what that meant. Marceline grabbed PB's hand and started flying in the opposite direction.

"Is it safe to assume that _that_ is the source of your disturbances?" Said Marceline, obviously fighting her body to keep her fear beneath her surface. PB was too petrified to respond to Marceline's sarcasm and just stared at the plume of death and decay. It was three years since Finn and Jake trapped The Lich in the multiverse. Three years since the _almost_ destruction of Ooo. Three years since she nearly died. Princess Bubblegum didn't like feeling scared. She always wanted to be in control of her fate and the fate of those she cared about. She hadn't felt as powerless as she did then, a day that she would never forget.

Finn and Jake were on their way to inform the banana guards of the princesses absence when The Lich's plume of death and decay rose from the ground. Jake's super sense of smell caused him to recoil in disgust, and to tremble in fear. He nervously grabbed Finn by the pack and started running, growing in size as he did. Soon, they were at their tree-house. Finn grabbed as many weapons as he could fit in his pack while Jake took out his phone and started making phone calls. Jake knew that their only chance of defeating The Lich was with numbers, and he was calling every friend that he could. Flame Princess, Ice King, Susan Strong, and Billy. Then the magical dog remembered that Billy had died and deleted his message. He was having a hard time coming to terms with his death. Jake also worried that Marceline and Princess Bubblegum were killed in the explosion, because they didn't pick up their phones.

Finn finished packing his bag and was preparing to leave when BMO walked into the room.

"What's going on, guys?" asked BMO, "I heard a loud noise earlier but I couldn't see out of the window."

Finn replied, "BMO, The Lich has returned and we need to stop him."

"Hooray!" exclaimed BMO, "I finally get to use my ninja skills for good!"

"BMO," said Jake, flatly, "You're staying right here. The Lich would probably fry your circuits just by looking at you."

"Okay," replied BMO, with sadness in his voice, "I'll make the victory cake."

As Finn and Jake left, BMO started stacking books next to the window, but his tower toppled when he climbed on top. BMO resolved to open the front door to watch his friends leave, but Jake had locked the door from the outside in order to prevent BMO from pursuing them. Finn felt a tear fall down his cheek, knowing full well that they might not return from this battle.

Marceline was soaring through the sky as fast as she could. Holding Bonnibel as tight as she could, the two quickly made it to Marceline's cave. Grabbing her axe bass off of the wall, Marceline noticed that she had messages on her phone. She grabbed the phone and listened, with a horrified look on her face. PB noticed, and started to worry. There was little that scared Marceline, so PB wondered what the message said. Marceline turned quickly, grabbing PB by the hand and started flying off.

"Aaaaaahhh!" screamed Bubblegum. She wasn't prepared for Marceline's sudden action and was surprised to find herself dozens of feet off of the ground. "Marceline, what did the message say?"

The vampire replied with silence. Marceline was determined to get to her destination and to keep Bonnibel safe, no matter the cost. Soon, Marceline was flying over the Candy Kingdom and straight for the castle. After landing in PB's lab, the Bubblegum demanded answers.

"Marceline!" exclaimed the princess, "What are you doing? Tell me!"

This time, Marceline did reply, "I'm going to fight The Lich, and you aren't coming with me."

Princess Bubblegum felt s blow to her chest after hearing the news. Her best friend was essentially going on a suicide mission, and Bubblegum couldn't stop her.

"Marceline," said Bubblegum, "You can't. You'll die!"

"If The Lich isn't stopped," shouted Marceline, "all of _Ooo _will die!"

"What did the message say? Who told you to go?!" At this point, tears where rolling down the princess's cheeks. Although she didn't want Marceline to go, she had a point. Bubblegum would most likely be a hindrance if she came, and The Lich had the power to destroy Ooo.

"Finn and Jake are going to fight The Lich," explained Marceline, "And nobody is going to stop them. So, I'm going to help them." Princess Bubblegum was at a loss for words. Not only was her best friend going to willingly going on a suicide mission, but her most loyal and trusted heroes were leading the charge. Bubblegum just stared at the wall, shell-shocked. Marceline took the opportunity to fly out of the window, straight for The Lich.


	3. The scars of battle

***AUTHOR'S NOTE* Although this story hasn't been getting any success, I couldn't get it out of my head. As a result, I will continue to write and post these stories until I'm satisfied with it. In the meantime, review the story, enjoy, and do what you will.**

Finn followed Jake through the dense forest. The Lich's influence could be spotted everywhere: the grass was greyish brown and was wilted, the trees' leaves were falling to the ground, and there were no animals in sight. Finn knew that Jake was walking as slow as possible in order to savor every moment that he might not experience again. Finn, however, wanted to arrive quickly. Delaying the inevitable seemed like a cowardly act, and Finn was no coward. The smell was getting worse with every passing step, but Finn hardly noticed. He was too determined to reach The Lich that he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings.

That's when Finn started to feel hot. He was sweating heavily and was starting to feel tired. That was bad. Finn knew why he felt hot, but he wasn't sure why it was effecting him them. Sure enough, Flame Princess materialized to the right of the brothers on the side of a clearing. He also noticed that she had grown a lot since the last time he saw her. They had broken up a long time ago, but they still hung out from time to time. He hadn't seen her in months, however, due to him devoting more time to exploring and adventuring. She was glowing more brightly than ever, but her flames were also much larger hence the heat. Finn had gotten over Flame Princess and now only loved her as a friend.

"Finn!" exclaimed Flame Princess, "Long time no see!"

"Hey Flame Princess," replied Finn, "How has the Fire Kingdom been holding up?"

"We've been prospering, actually," stated Flame Princess, "Our economy has been steadily growing because other kingdoms are willing to trade with us now!"

"Oh wait," interrupted Jake, "Do you think it was a bad idea inviting both Flame Princess and Ice King?"

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Shouted Finn and FP in unison.

"I thought that he would be able to help us fight." Defended Jake.

"Don't you remember how those two get along?" Finn questioned, "Ice King hasn't forgiven her for destroying the Ice Kingdom a while back."

Jake looked at the ground, obviously remorseful, "I guess I should've consulted you first."

The three continued on, Finn walking in between FP and Jake. By this point, both Finn and Jake were used to the heat given off by the princess. They walked in silence for the remainder of their journey. When they arrived, they saw a horrible sight: Susan Strong lying limply on the ground while the Ice King was trying (and failing) at freezing The Lich. Just as Flame Princess passed into The Lich's clearing, the Ice King was swatted down to the ground, knocking his crown off. The Lich turned to see the three enter the clearing and his expression turned to an evil smile. This instantly sent a chill down Finn's back, as The Lich would want revenge for their last encounter.

Finn pulled the Demon Blood sword off of his back and stood in a fighting stance. Jake stretched his limbs and body until he was the size of The Lich, averting his eyes from The Lich's psychological stare. Flame Princess flared the embers in her body, her heat alone burning the grass that she stood upon. Then, Finn charged, his battle-cry heard echoing across the forest. Jake raised his fist to punch The Lich, and FP started shooting fireballs directly at the demon's head. The lich just smiled deeper, and deeper, and deeper. Although Finn was slashing at The Lich's legs, it didn't appear to hurt the monster. In fact, The Lich seemed to enjoy the battle. The Lich had craved revenge for many years as he was imprisoned, and had planned out his actions. He would kill all who were beloved to Finn and Jake, kill Jake, then torture Finn to the point of death. Then Ooo would be his.

Marceline raced towards The Lich at top speed. As she neared the beast, she took her axe bass and pulled it back with all of her might. The impact was ferocious. The axe connected with The Lich's head at an astonishing speed. The Lich lost focus and stumbled over, giving Finn an opening. Finn scaled the giant's body and reached its head in no time. Finn raised his Demon Blood sword, but stopped. There was a voice in Finn's head telling him to stop. That it was no use. Finn knew that The Lich was infiltrating his mind, but couldn't stop it. It was as if there was a mini-battle in Finn's head, and he was losing. Finn screamed in outrage. He couldn't think, he couldn't move. He was about to lose himself.

Marceline was watching Finn's inner struggle while attempting to dent The Lich's skull with her axe. This time, however, the demon was prepared for her strikes and didn't react to them in any way. Then, The Lich raised its had close to its face. An ominous green glow emanated from his palms, the same green that occupied the pillar of death and decay. Suddenly, The Lich sent out a green fireball straight for Flame Princess. She was distracted by looking at Finn that she hadn't noticed the toxic blast heading straight for her. Her flames went dim, and she slumped over. Her scream was animalistic, and bloodcurdling. Just then, Finn snapped awake and raised his sword again. The Lich just simply tilted his shoulders and Finn started falling. Marceline flew straight for him, but was swatted away by the demon's massive hand. _CRAACCKK!_

Finn had landed right on his am. He didn't feel the pain straight away, but he was knocked unconscious. The Lich smiled his evil smile, and turned his attention on Marceline. She flew around The Lich's attacks as fast as she could, but The Lich was very persistent. Jake was getting very tired. He tried his best to damage The Lich, but nothing was working. It was as if The Lich didn't even notice his presence. That's when Jake had an idea. He stretched his arms around The Lich's legs until they were completely tied. Jake pulled with all of his might, and the demon toppled over. Right onto Marceline.

"Oh glob!" exclaimed Jake. Marceline was beat up very badly. She had multiple cuts and gashes on her face and was knocked out. The Lich only seemed to get angry rather than injured. Jake realized that he was the last one left standing. The Lich's eyes glowed dark green. His evil smile turned into a hateful frown. He stared directly into Jake's eyes. Jake turned and ran before The Lich had a chance to enter his brain. The Lich was inherently much faster than Jake, but the magical dog was fueled by fear. The Lich couldn't seem to hit Jake as he ran further and further away from the clearing. Then, he remembered that Finn was still unconscious back there. Jake was tired, and wanted his last moments with his bro. So Jake dashed past The Lich and straight for the clearing. He said a silent goodbye to Lady Rainicorn as he approached Finn's unconscious body.


	4. Peebles and the Mint

***AU* Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I was busy with school work. Anyway, I'm trying my best to post these whenever I can, so be ready. Also, none of the characters in this story are mine. Adventure Time and all of its characters belong to Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. Regardless, enjoy, review, and do what you will.**

Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum watched from her castle window as the battle unfolded. Green, demonic explosions obscured the princess's view of the battle, but she could infer what was taking place. It was obvious that The Lich was defeating all of the warriors sent to stop him. She sighed, wishing there was something she could do. Bonnibel hated feeling useless. When she couldn't watch her friends dying, she studied every book that she could find about The Lich. She desperately searched for a way to defeat The Lich, since Billy had the Gauntlet. Then, the princess had an idea._ Billy. I need to get Billy._

Billy was killed long ago in a battle with Hunson Abadeer. Billy found Hunson stealing mortal souls, again, and attempted to stop him. Hunson killed Billy, but not without being mortally wounded. In fact, it took Hunson months to heal his wounds. Bonnibel yelled for her loyal servant.

"Peppermint Butler!" her shouts ringing across the Candy Kingdom, "Make me a portal to the dead world!" Peppermint Butler knew better than to question his ruler, and started drawing intricate runes on the wall. After a quick chant, the portal opened. Peering into the portal, Bonnibel saw lakes of blood, corpses begging to be killed (despite the fact that they were already dead), and a massive castle home to death himself. Peppermint Butler reminisced about his past visits to his dear friend, and hopped in the portal. The princess followed.

"So, what are you up to, princess?" asked Peppermint Butler, knowing that if she retaliated, he could leave her there, "Are you trying to revive another one of your 'test subjects'?" Bubblegum was angered at the question, because Peppermint Butler shouldn't question her actions. However, the princess needed her servant to bargain with death. She decided to answer his question.

"I'm going to bring Billy back from the grave to defeat The Lich." Replied the monarch. She continued walking towards the castle.

"How, princess?" questioned the butler, pushing Bonnibel's patience, "There isn't enough gold in the Kingdom to pay death for Billy's release."

The princess replied, slyly, "We don't need gold. Death owes you a favor, if I remember correctly."

"But princess!" countered the minty servant, "It's not easy to get favors from death! You'll be wasting my only favor!"

"How about I owe you a favor?" replied Bubblegum, "Three more and you get a whole year off."

Peppermint Butler was ecstatic. He had already collected seven favors from the princess and needed ten for a year-long vacation. As much as Peppermint Butler wanted to stay by the princess's side, being a butler was hard work. Peppermint Butler eagerly nodded his head, bringing his favor count to eight. He was pleased

Bonnibel followed her butler to the castle of death, but all of the spirits stayed away from the duo. Perhaps they were afraid of Peppermint Butler. As the minty servant unlocked the front door with his own personal key, the two stepped into the castle. There were beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, the staircase was elegant and grand, and the walls were covered in murals of death. This place gave Bonnibel the creeps whenever she came to bring back Cinnamon Bun after one of his 'mishaps'. She was jealous of the amount of splendor the castle of death had, and she had always tried to steal something that caght her eye. But not this time. This time, it was all business.

"Death!" called Peppermint butler, "I'm baaaack!" After a few moments of silence, the grim reaper appeared in front of them. He was skeleton-like in appearance with cold eyes that literally stared into your soul. Death could take just about any form he wished, but he preferred his demonic look. The lord of death picked up Peppermint Butler and swung him into the air, catching him before he hit the ground.

"Pepps!" called death, "It's been too long!"

"Sorry I couldn't make Poker last week," replied the minty servant, "The princess had duties for me to attend to."

"Sorry to hear that pal." answered the lord of demise, "What brings you here?"

"The Lich I up top," Peppermint Butler pointed upwards, "And I'm cashing in my favor to revive Billy the Hero. Upon milady's request, of course."

"Alright," responded the skeletal entity, "One 'Billy the Hero' coming right up."

"I can't thank you enough for helping me, 'Pepps'," the princess giggled at her butler's nickname, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you keep your death favor."

The butler looked up to his princess and said, "Don't worry. As long as you give me favor number eight, I'll be fine." Death returned moments later with the body of Billy the Hero.

"Here you go, Pepps." said the grim reaper, "Don't forget, Poker on the 12th!"

"I'll be there, death!" answered the candy man. With that, he led the princess back to the portal. Carrying the body of Billy, Peppermint Butler stepped though into the princess's lab. The recently revived hero woke up, gasping for air.

"Where is Hunson Abadeer?!" yelled Billy, "He's stealing souls again!"

"Calm down, Billy," ordered Bonnibel, "We have bigger problems to deal with."

Finn the human was slowly opening his eyes. All around him, he saw his friends' bodies scattered, either dead but hopefully unconscious. The Lich was standing over Jake, green flames engulfing his skeletal hand. The hero barely had enough strength to open his eyes, but he attempted to pull himself off of the ground. He couldn't fail, his friends needed him. Finn pushed his arms behind him, raising his torso off of the grass. He began moving his legs. Finally, he stood up. Then, Finn felt a sharp pain in his arm. He hadn't felt it hurt as he was too concentrated on getting up. Grabbing his demon blood sword, the human slowly made his way to his mortal enemy. Jake was bloodied, beaten, and was being torched by the flames that The Lich was hurling at him. Knowing he had no advantage other than surprise, Finn crept up on the evil conjurer.

As the hero crept up to The Lich, Finn raised his sword. The sword felt very heavy in his hands and the human was barely able to lift his blade above his head. Grunting as he swung his sword, Finn put all of his strength into his strike. The Lich spun around and saw Finn lowering his blade. The necromancer jumped away in time to dodge the strike, but not before the crimson red blade slashed through The Lich's cloak. Gazing upon his weakened opponent, The Lich noticed something in the hero's eyes: Determination. This human boy was exerting himself passed his physical limits in order to protect his friends. He would be a good host for The Lich to possess.

The Lich punched the human on the jaw. The blow knocked the hero back a few feet, onto the hard ground. Finn had proven to The Lich that he had an immensely strong will. Therefore, the weaker that Finn was, the easier it would be for the necromancer to infiltrate his mind. Finn stood up again, ignoring the splintering pain in his arm. Yelling as loud as he could, the human charged The Lich. Finn was again knocked onto his back. The hero looked up and saw The Lich appear above him. Finn felt a sharp pain in his side, just as The Lich pulled his foot away from the hero's body. Finn could feel his muscles aching, his heart begging him to stop. His brain told him to get up, but his body wasn't responding. The hero had failed his friends. He closed his eyes, waiting for The Lich to strike, or at the very least attempt to possess him, but nothing happened. Opening his eyes, Finn saw a ghost. Billy, his idol was back from the dead and protecting him from The Lich.


	5. Gladiator

***AN* Here it is: Chapter 5. I would've posted this one a lot sooner, but I had a few major changes to fix, as I wasn't happy with the first draft. Also, I went back to chapter 2 to add a sentence or two to have it match up with a plot point in chapter 4. I'm also going to attempt at releasing chapters faster than I have been. Adventure Time and all of its characters belong to Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this fan fiction. Regardless, enjoy, review, and do what you will.**

Finn was left in shock, staring at the previously dead hero. Billy looked the same way that he did before his death. As the human pondered the reason that Billy had been resurrected, the demon king and the fallen hero engaged. Billy swung his mighty sword at The Lich, receiving a powerful blow to his chest. The necromancer responded with an unholy fireball aimed straight for Billy's head. The legendary hero simply raised his gauntlet arm and blasted the green flame out of the sky. The Lich continued to fire numerous fireballs at his opponent. Billy was agile and precise, destroying each blast The Lich sent out. The demon king continued to fire more fireballs at the hero until Billy could not defend against the flames. The hero fell to the ground, his body severely burned. As The Lich approached his fallen foe, Billy swung his sword into the necromancer's legs. As the demon king fell to the ground, Finn realized that the battle was slowly approaching his position. He needed to move, but couldn't find the strength to even roll himself out of the way.

Billy continued to battle his sworn enemy. Each warrior exchanged blows, dodged each other's attacks, and were both equally tired. Sensing that he wasn't gaining any ground in the battle, The Lich raised his skeletal hands, green flames engulfing both appendages. Billy felt the ground shake as legions of undead knights rose from the ground. The Lich had his army, once again. Although Billy was more than a match for the warriors of death, The Lich had worn out the hero's stamina. Billy attacked the ghostly figures with his sword hand while attempting to blast The Lich with his gauntlet hand. Billy felt his energy being drained. Soon, his strikes were slow, his aim was poor, and his body covered in cuts and bruises. As the last of the undead knights were defeated, the demon king was ready to defeat his eternal foe.

The Lich blasted green flames at the disoriented hero. Unable to defend himself, Billy fell to the ground. The legendary champion was being scorched and was slowly and painfully dying. Billy's vision was blurring, his nerves unable to process the damage being received by Billy's body. The Lich relented his green flames and instead kicked his foot into the hero's throat, effectively chocking him. In truth, the battle had taken out more energy than The Lich had hoped and the demon king resorted to physically attacking Billy in order to conserve his energy. The champion of Ooo thought to himself that he wasn't ready to die again. There were too many threats to slay, too many adventures to be had. He had only lived thirty minutes after being revived until he fought the demon king. His eyes closed, his heart full of sorrow. He couldn't save Ooo. The Lich had won.

The Lich pressed his foot deeper into Billy's neck, which was bleeding profusely. The demon king was weak, tired, and had lost his army again. It wouldn't take that much time to regain his strength, but The Lich needed Billy to be punished for impeding the demon king's progress in the conquest of Ooo. Then, he would return to Finn and deliver the punishment that the boy deserved. Billy gasped his last breath of air (again) and returned to the blackness. The Lich let loose a dastardly laugh, one that shook Ooo too its very core. Satisfied, The Lich turned around to gaze upon his bloodied battlefield. He wasn't expecting to see Finn the human standing in his way, again. _When is this puny hero going to quit?!_ Thought The Lich to himself. Finn lunged, plunging his demon blood sword straight into the demon king's skeletal frame. The Lich stared in awe at the human as he fell to the ground.

Finn felt his body retaliating at his refusal to rest. His muscles were sore, his skin was burning, and it hurt his head to think. He had to rely on pure instinct to finish the battle. He pulled his sword away from The Lich as he fell to the ground. Finn jumped out of the way before he could get crushed. Finn recognized his window to strike, and he gladly took the opportunity to stab and slash the demon king as much as possible. The Lich was weak, very weak. Otherwise he wouldn't be feeling pain the demon blood sword was cutting into him. Slowly, the demonic entity summoned enough strength to conjure a green fireball at his fist. Finn raised is sword as The Lich prepared to throw his blast. The human's crimson blade plunged into his enemy's skull as the unholy fireball blasted Finn away.

The Lich gasped, unable to comprehend that he was beaten again. His energy was completely drained. His body was lifeless, his eyes no longer glowing. The Lich King was dead. Finn somehow managed a smile, but immediately regretted the action as pain shot through his face. Finn kept the smile on his face, however, knowing that he had saved Ooo from chaos. With his last burst of strength, Finn looked around the battlefield. Marceline was bloodied and bruised, but was slowly breathing. Jake too, was still alive after his brush with death. In fact, the only two people not breathing were Susan Strong, who was beaten before Finn arrived, and Billy, who Finn had failed to save. Finn closed his eyes, looking back at his failures for the day. He was wondering if the sacrifices were necessary to ensure his victory over The Lich. The hero let his mind wander and replay the battle over and over in his head. In the midst of his thoughts, Finn drifted into sleep.

The battle had finished about one hour before Bonnibel got there. A strange scene took place before her: Jake's limbs were scattered everywhere, his chest moving up and down slowly. Susan Strong still had yet to move, her limbs bent at unnatural angles. The Ice King was trying to break through the ice that surrounded him. Whenever the wizard was critically injured, the crown upon his head encased him with ice in order to protect the host. Billy, who was recently revived by Bonnibel, was sprawled across the ground, his body covered in severe gashes and third-degree burns. The only people unaccounted for were Finn, Flame Princess, and Marceline. _Marcy, where are you?! _Questioned the princess. Just then, a figure carrying two bodies emerged from the woods. Marceline, covered in cuts, scrapes, bruises, and more carried Flame Princess in one arm (Marceline's arm was severely burnt and looked black) and a charred and scorched figure in the other.

"MEDIC!" yelled Bonnibel, "WE HAVE INJURED!" Soon, several ice cream cones and a lollipop (for Flame Princess) appeared. The three were whisked away to the Candy Kingdom's hospital. Flame Princess soon awoke in a fireproof chamber, along with a doctor covered in tinfoil. The doctor held a pad and pencil, and was hurriedly writing something down. When she noticed the ruler of the Fire Kingdom, she turned to face her.

She spoke with a calming voice, "You are Flame Queen, ruler of the Fire Kingdom. Is that correct?"

The young monarch responded, "Well, I still prefer to be called Flame Princess, but otherwise that is correct."

"Good. Do you remember anything about your battle with The Lich?" asked the doctor.

"Yeah, I remember." Answered the princess, "I was unconscious during most of it, though."

"What do you remember, Flame Princess?"

"Well, I remember that we were getting our butts whooped by The Lich. He shot me with some sort of fireball that knocked me out."

"Is that all, Flame Princess?"

"No, that's not all. I came to later and-" she stopped her sentence abruptly, "Oh glob, Finn! Is Finn OK?"

"He is under medical care. May you please continue the story?"

The fire elemental just started crying uncontrollably. Magma was pouring out of her eyes. She couldn't hold back her emotions. She cried for what seemed like an eternity. She cried herself to sleep. The doctor wrote one final note and left the room.

"We'll continue tomorrow, if that's OK."

**For those of you who are wondering (I'm guessing probably none of you) The change I made is that I had everybody live except Billy, but I killed all of the people who don't have a role in the story later on. Also, I had Flame Princess being the only person by Finn's side, despite the fact that everybody was awake. Overall, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review (criticism is always welcome).**


	6. Fade to dust

***AN* Sorry to leave you with the cliffhanger. I couldn't continue the story to an acceptable stopping point without it being extremely long. I also thought that I would leave you all in suspense. Anyway, Chapter 6. Adventure Time and all of its characters belong to Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. I do not own any characters portrayed in this fan fiction. Regardless, review, enjoy, and do what you will.**

Flame Princess came to shortly after Finn slayed The Lich. She felt sluggish, her oxygen levels were low and her flames glowed dimly in the night sky. She noticed that she was the only one still awake, the others laying on the ground. The Lich himself was on the ground right next to Finn, his demon blood sword protruding from the skeleton's skull. Flame Princess hoisted herself off of the ground with great effort. Realizing that she made a mistake, FP sat back down and started to meditate. Her focus broke when she heard screams echoing through her ears.

She opened her eyes, trying to locate the sounds of the cries. She gazed upon her unconscious friends, but none of them were moving. She followed the sound into the surrounding woods, where the trees blocked out even the moonlight. If it wasn't for the light given off by her flames, FP would've tripped over Finn. She dropped to his side, with an urgency she even surprised herself with. FP could see the pain in Finn's mind. His veins were strained, his eyes clamped tight.

The hero let out a bloodcurdling scream. His eyes were wide open at this point, a hint of green seeping inwards. Careful not to touch him, Flame Princess waved her hand in front of Finn's face. "F…P…" said the human, weakly.

"What's happening?!" yelled the princess, "What's going on?!"

The hero pointed to his head, "Lich… Inside… Help…"

"How do I help?" questioned the princess, a small tear running down FP's face.

"Fire…burn…Lich..." the human was interrupted by another screaming fit, "GGGGGGGAAAAAHHHHH!" Flame Princess stared at the hero, dumbfounded.

The sadness returning to her eyes, the princess responded, "Finn, I can't burn you. You could die! Is there any other way?!" The ground beneath FP was being singed at the massive amount of magma tears that were falling from her eyes.

"F…P… please…AAAH!"

"Finn, I can't burn you. I…" The princess was sobbing at this point, "I… I love you Finn!"

"Prin…cess…I…" The hero was interrupted with a deep laughter, not from Finn's voice. This came from the demon king himself. Finn clutched his head, yelling in pain. He was obviously fighting The Lich inside of his mind. Watching Finn struggle was painful for Flame Princess. She had meant every word she had said. Scorching Finn could potentially kill the only person she truly cared about.

"Oh, Finn…" sobbed the princess. She had to muster up the courage to save Ooo, but kill Finn.

"FP…DIE YOU INFERNAL PEST!" The Lich was violently tossing Finn's mind around his conscious. She had to burn him. For the good of Ooo._ For the good of Finn._ She let her body fall on top of Finn's, her embers flaring as their torsos made contact.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" screamed The Lich in agony. "PRINCESS!" cried Finn. Flame Princess wasn't listening anymore. She couldn't handle Finn's screams of pain and misery. The ruler of the Fire Kingdom simply wept, burning the grass with her magma tears. Finn's screams only deepened her sorrow, feeding the fires of sadness in the princess's head. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't listen to his screams of pain for another second. She held her breath, her flow of oxygen being disrupted. Her yellowish flames dimmed to a deep orange, then an orange-red, than a deep red color. The lack of oxygen caused her body to collapse, right onto the hero's body. His cries continued for another minute, then were silenced.

Jake woke up in warm bed. His eyes didn't open for another half hour because he felt so comfortable. The magical dog hadn't slept in a bed that comfortable since he woke up in the hospital. _The hospital. Oh Glob! I'm at the Candy hospital!_ His eyes hurriedly opened, darting through his new surroundings. He was indeed in the Candy hospital. To his left was a large, a glass window with a view of downtown Candy Kingdom. To his right, a large door with a keyhole leading to a hallway. Jake himself was hooked up to some sort of container filled with red liquid and he was covered in full body cast. Slipping out of his medical exoskeleton, Jake walked up to the window. The magical dog gazed into the distance, trying to spot the battlefield that he had fought at the previous night. _Or was it two nights ago? Wait, how long was I out?_

Jake gasped, "I MIGHT'VE MISSED MY MORNING SANDWICH!" Ice cream doctors rushed into the room. One picked him up and laid him into his bed. The second doctor plunged a sedative into Jake's neck. The last doctor hooked Jake's arm back to the I.V. machine. Jake fell back asleep.

Jake awoke in the treehouse. He had long since moved in with Lady Rainicorn, but he stopped by very often. The magical dog decided to make meatloaf for Finn, since it was his favorite. He started mixing the ingredients in the pan. It was then when The Lich entered the house. The strange thing, however, was that Jake simply acknowledged it as something normal, like The Lich _was_ Finn. To make the situation more confusing, The Lich spoke with Finn's voice.

"Hey Jake," said The Lich, or was it Finn? Jake wasn't sure, "Making me some meatloaf?"

"You bet!" exclaimed the dog, "I thought I'd surprise you, but whatevs."

"Man, this is mathematical!"

Jake smiled to himself as he finished his dish. He turned around to serve Finn, but his image had changed. Now, it was Finn's body sitting at the table.

"Why didn't you save me?" Finn spoke with The Lich's voice, the demonic sound resonating through the treehouse. "Why didn't you save me?!" Finn's face wrinkled, his eyes narrowed, and his face was one of hatred. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME?!" Jake was too scared to respond. His body had shrunk, he was hiding under the stove, and he had dropped the meatloaf. Jake was rocking back and forth with his head in his hands. "SAVE ME! SAVE ME! WHY WON'T YOU SAVE ME JAKE!" The magical dog heard footsteps thundering across the kitchen. The footsteps suddenly stopped. Jake leaned his head out of his hiding place to see what had happened. Instantly, Finn's face lowered right in front of the dog's, causing him to jump back. "SAVE ME!"

Jake awoke again in his hospital bed, sweating and gasping for air. There were numerous ice cream doctors surrounding Jake's bed along with Princess Bubblegum herself. All of the people were inquisitively looking and the magical dog, as if he was a test subject, which he seriously hoped wasn't the case.

The princess spoke first, "Jake, you were screaming in your sleep. What happened?" Bubblegum stared directly at the dog, waiting for a response.

"There was a treehouse," Jake responded, almost too fast to comprehend, "And there was meatloaf, and Finn came in, or was it The Lich? Anyway, The Lich was Finn and Finn was The Lich." PB shared an odd look with each other.

Bubblegum, again, spoke first, "You said that Finn was The Lich-"

"And The Lich was Finn!" Jake interrupted.

"Okay. The Lich and Finn were the same in this dream you had. Did Finn/Lich say anything out of the ordinary?"

"Well," answered Jake, "At first he talked like Finn. Then, he spoke with The Lich's voice and asked why I didn't' save him. I don't what he was talking about."

Princess Bubblegum had a surprised look on his face. Another doctor, an ice cream cone, asked Jake another question, "Jake, do you know the current condition of Finn the human?"

"Why?!" asked the magical dog, "Did something happen? WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BRO?!" he was panting again, rage on his face.

"Jake," said the princess, calmly, "Finn was possessed by The Lich and burnt up by Flame Princess. We need to know if you have any more information about this."

Jake was shocked. His bro was possessed by The Lich? And FP burned him? Does that mean that The Lich was beaten? A million questions swirled through the shape-shifter's head. He was confused beyond all measure. Jake fell back asleep, where he could escape the reality of Finn's possession.

Bonnibel, again, made her way to the Intensive Care Unit. There were only two heroes in this wing: Finn and Marceline. Finn was recovering from his third-degree burns, but the scan showed a back substance melded onto his brain. Bonnibel wasn't visiting the slayer of The Lich, however. She was visiting the queen of vampires: Marceline. She had suffered the most damage during the fight: punctured lungs, a cracked ribcage, major blood loss, and had broken both of her legs. The doctors weren't sure if she was going to make it at all. It had been three days since Marceline collapsed after rescuing Flame Princess and Finn, but the princess was confused as to how she had managed the strength for that feat.

The princess took time out of her day in order to check on Marceline. Soon, days stretched into weeks, which in turn transformed into months. Still no change. Every other hero that lived through the battle was awake, except for Marceline. Finn too, but he wasn't expected to wake up any time soon. There was a respirator covering Marceline's mouth and nose, a heartbeat monitor, and an I.V. pumping Marceline's blood. The vampire queen's heart wasn't beating on its own, but a special device the princess had made helped keep the half-demon alive. Unfortunately, the heartbeat accelerator only lasted two months, and the due date was approaching fast. Desperately, Bonnibel tried to make a new version, but each new model was defective in some way.

The day had arrived. The day Bonnibel had dreaded for months. The day that the original heartbeat accelerator stopped working. The princess made her way to the ICU to stay by the side of her best friend while her heart stopped. Tears fell from the princess's eyes. Sweet, sugary tears, but tears nonetheless. As she entered the room, she heard the heartbeat monitor begin to speed up, signaling that the device wouldn't last much longer. The princess sat at Marceline's side, hoping, wishing even that her friend would wake up. The heartbeat monitor finally leveled out, giving off a continuous _beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…_ noise. Bawling her eyes out, the princess collapsed onto Marceline's dead body.

"Miss me, Bonnibel?" the princess sat up with a jump. The voice had come from Marceline. But how was that possible?

"M-ma-marceline?" the princess stuttering, absolutely dumbstruck.

"What is it, Bonnie?" Marceline acted like nothing happened at all.

"You-you we-you were dead! The heartbeat monitor stopped! How are you alive?"

"Oh Bonnie" Marceline replied with a sarcastic grin, "I'm not alive. Remember? I'm a vampire."

"Bu-but…but…" Princess Bubblegum couldn't form a sentence. Instead, she wrapped her hands around Marceline, crying with tears of joy.

"If it's any consolation, Bonnibel, I missed you too." The vampire queen laughed as the ruler of the Candy Kingdom stopped crying. "What did I miss?"


	7. Greenish Red

***AUTHOR'S NOTE* Chapter 7 is here, for the few of you who have been keeping up with the story. I've been busy with school and family so I couldn't post this chapter sooner. Anyway, Adventure Time and all of its characters are owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. I do not own any characters portrayed in this fan fiction. Regardless, enjoy, review, and do what you will.**

It was different this time. The dream was different. It had always been the same, but everything had changed. The landscape was different, the people were different, and he felt different himself. Finn found himself underground, in some sort of dungeon. Jake was there, Marceline was there, and even Peebles had shown up. The hero looked at himself. He looked older. He was taller, fitter, and was carrying a different sword. Finn still felt his demon blood sword on his back, but the sword he was carrying was smaller, thinner, and lighter. The hero doubted that it had much power at all. The group carefully made their way down the narrow hallway, with Finn leading the charge. As he rounded a corner, a group of bats flew from the ceiling and away from the group. The hero could've sworn that one of the bats was shiny and yellow.

Peebles broke the silence, "If Forsezan's map is correct, then the shrine is located in the next room."

Finn unknowingly gripped his sword tighter. It seemed that his new weapon was somehow linked to the shrine. "Alright. According to Forsezan, the next room will be filled with hundreds of monsters. I wouldn't blame any one of you if you turned around now."

"I'm staying," rebutted Jake, "I can't leave you in there by yourself. Besides, The Lich needs to be killed for good." Finn nodded in agreement, as if what Jake said was normal to him.

Marceline responded next, "You're crazy if you think I'm going to let you two have all of the fun. It's monster killing time." The three anxiously looked at the princess, waiting for her response.

"I think…" Bonnibel trailed off. She was shaking, scared at the daunting challenge ahead, "I think I will stay."

"Get ready" ordered Finn, preparing to round the hallway corner, "3…2…1...AAAAAH!"

From here, images started flashing, one after another. Jake growing to monstrous sizes and smashing stuff, Marceline turning invisible and killing lots of monsters, and Peebles throwing random vials of chemicals at demons and skeletons. Even he was using both of his swords to dismember his foes. Another image floated into his vision: his new sword glowing with an angelic aura. Immediately after, a green fireball blasted Peebles into a wall. Then the ceiling collapsed. Then Jake and Marceline got crushed. The images were playing in rapid succession to each other, constantly repeating until the events were etched into his brain.

His vision turned dark. He felt himself floating in darkness, all alone. In any direction, there was only darkness. He was cold, shivering silently in his position. Moving his arms like he was swimming, Finn could move around this empty void. As if it would help him escape. In truth, this void was Finn's dwelling for the past couple of months. He was aware that he was asleep, or at least was in a coma. He couldn't wake up, no matter how hard he tried. The hero felt warm, signifying that something was happening. Although Finn knew what was going to happen, he still felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

The Lich appeared (another constant in the black abyss), his skeletal figure towering over the young hero. It seemed that every day that Finn had to battle The Lich. The hero had no way to fight against the demonic entity, so he braced himself for the worst. The Lich blasted away at the hero, singing his body with black burn marks everywhere. Then, Finn had an idea. He turned his body, seeming to swim in the air. Kicking his feet, the hero started to escape the evil creature. Something grabbed his leg, something cold and bony. The Lich then barraged Finn body with more fire. The hero was starting to lose consciousness. Before his eyes closed, he heard The Lich's deep, evil voice.

"_For those who want to live again, for those who see the world end. For those who want the sun to die, for those who live for people's cry. For those who want his reign to start, then plunge the sword into his heart. All hail The Lich King!"_

FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE BATTLE AT THE PORTAL

Green pulled the hood over his face, casting a dark shadow across his pale face. Under the cover of night, he looked like any normal citizen. His hair was black and his eyes were red. Although he was not a vampire, Green was often accused of being one. He, in fact,was part demon, part candy. He was humanoid in appearance and was about six feet tall. He didn't attract any attention to himself, covertly hiding his blade behind his back. What he was about to do would make him a legend for all eternity. As he approached the candy hospital, he saw a tall figure enter the building. _Or was it floating? It doesn't matter_.

Green hid behind a bush. His demonic powers gave him superior speed, making sure nobody saw him. He closed his eyes, channeling a deep source of power within him. His eyes flashed open, looking around to see if any civilians saw him. Looking down at himself, Green saw that his practice paid off. He could see the ground beneath him, although he was looking directly at his body. He was invisible. Green didn't waste any time dashing into the hospital.

Green ran past nurses, doctors, and countless patients. He knew where his target was, and headed directly for the Intensive Care Unit. His blade growing heavier on his back, Green knew he was getting close to his objective. Entering the room inconspicuously, the hooded demon slowly reached for his blade. Finn the human was sleeping peacefully on the bed in front of the demon, still deep within his coma. Feeling the cold edge of his sword slide across his back, Green focused his eyes on the Lich slayer. The black blade was well above the demon's head when he swung his arms downward. This was his final victory. This was his liberation.

Marceline had made sure to check on Finn every day. She felt in debt to the hero as saved her, and the rest of Ooo as well. The vampire queen had been spending a lot of time in the Nightosphere, reading everything she could about odd medical conditions. The Cyclops tears used by Jake didn't affect the black goo on Finn's brain, as the dark substance had melded perfectly onto the muscle. The vampire queen vowed to find a cure, or at least fix the human. It was then that Marceline turned invisible, sensing a presence enter through the door. Only, nothing entered. She could still detect a separate entity in the room, but he was invisible. _Invisible_! Though Marceline. She closed her eyes, chanting an old Latin phrase. When she reopened her eyes, the intruder was standing over Finn's bed. With a sword.

The vampire queen tackled the assailant, knocking him off of the bed. The would-be assassin was surprised, and Marceline took this to her advantage. Grabbing the demon, the vampire queen tackled him through the window all the way to the ground. After delivering several punches, the intruder started to fight back. The demon used his super speed to slip out from underneath Marceline. He then dashed towards the vampire queen, who expertly blocked his attack. The assailant jumped back about ten yards. He reached for his sword, but remembered he dropped it in the hospital room.

Marceline charged at her opponent. He swiftly dodged to the side, grabbing the vampire's wrist and breaking it. Taking only a moment to heal herself, Marceline started to grow into a monstrously sized bat. The intruder stared in shock at the large creature forming before him. Marceline wasted no time in attacking the demon. Her first awing missed the opponent, but the vampire queen quickly responded with another strike. The speed of the large bat was astounding. The hit suffered by the intruder knocked him off of his feet and into the large candy wall. He slid to the ground in defeat.

Marceline shifted back to her humanoid form, walking over to inspect her fallen foe. He had pale skin, red eyes and black hair. He looked vampire-like, but lacked the obvious fangs her kind had. She bent over to inspect the rest of him when she was grabbed violently. The intruder threw her across the square with a surprising amount of strength. Marceline crashed into another wall, presumably the wall of the hospital. The demon dashed to her weakened figure and gave her a volley of strong punches. She quickly recovered, and resumed her fight.

Jake the dog had gotten up early that day. He normally slept in, but he decided to get up early to visit Finn. It was still dark when Jake left. He grew in size and made his way to the Candy Kingdom. The magical dog arrived at the Candy Kingdom shortly after he left, and was shocked by what he saw. Dozens of banana guards lay sprawled across the ground, walls were smashed, and there was damage everywhere. Jake followed the trail of destruction to the center of the city. There, two figures stood across from each other. One was Marceline, who the magical dog recognized immediately, and the other was someone Jake had never met before. The unknown figure charged Marceline, who barely dodged and countered.

The vampire queen stood over her foe, preparing to deliver the final blow. Then the first few rays of sunshine shown over the Candy Kingdom's walls. Marceline fell back, cowering in pain. Her skin was burning, her eyes were bulging, and her screams were loud and painful to listen to. The intruder quickly got up and used the opportunity to his advantage. He moved so fast that Jake could barely see him. His strikes were fast and powerful, flinging the weakened vampire across the square. The magical dog knew he had to stop the assailant before he killed the vampire for good.

First, Jake grew an extra limb to cover Marceline from the sunlight. Then, he used his fist to knock the enemy away from the vampire queen. Finally, the dog grasped the demon with his other hand and squeezed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" yelled the attacker. He was loud, but spoke with a high voice. The dog clenched his hand tighter, and tighter, until the pale figure stopped screaming.

Jake heard a cawing noise. Looking up, he saw PB flying in on her Morrow. She had a look of disbelief on her face, along with rage showing through her eyes. "What in _Glob's name _happened here?!"


	8. Never again

***AN* This is chapter 8, ladies and gentleman. This chapter is dialogue heavy (at least, in comparison to my other chapters) and is probably my longest chapter yet. Also, I'm passing 10,000 words this chapter! I know that seems like a small milestone to you, but it's very big to me. I would also like to thank anyone who has read up to this point in the story. Leave a review if you want to compliment me, criticize me, or just comment in general (I also might post faster if this gets more reviews). Anyway, Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. I do not own any characters portrayed in this fan fiction (with the exception of Green and a few others I plan to introduce later on). As always, enjoy, review and do what you will.**

Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum gazed at the scene before her. Jake was carrying two figures: one was Marceline, who was very badly damaged due to the sun, and the other was an unconscious vampire. Or at least, it looked like a vampire. The surrounding buildings and various other structures were either damaged or destroyed. The proud fountain that stood gloriously at the center of the Kingdom was now a pile of ruins. There were banana guards laying on the ground everywhere. The princess was smart enough to infer what had happened: Marceline and the unknown vampire somehow got into a fight, where Marceline stood in the sun for too long. Jake got there and saved Marceline while also incapacitating the assailant in the process.

"Jake," nonchalantly stated the princess, "Bring him to the interrogation room below the prison." Jake nodded his head.

The dog started to move, but realized something, "What about Marcy?"

"I can handle her," replied the monarch, pulling a large umbrella out of her bag. The shadow enveloped Bonnibel as she carried the unconscious queen to the candy lab. Marceline would wake up in a few minutes time, but the princess wanted to examine the wounds inflicted on Marceline. Bonnibel barely put on her science goggles when the vampire queen opened her eyes. All of her cuts and bruises were gone, and the bubbles forming in her skin had disappeared.

"Marceline," scolded the princess, "Why are you so difficult?"

"Maybe 'cuz I'm so awesome," retorted the vampire queen, "Why are you so lame?"

"That's not what I meant. I was going to examine your injuries when you healed."

"And that's a bad thing because…"

"I may have gotten a lead into the identity of the attacker."

"Oh, I already know."

"Tell me then. We need all of the information that we can get."

"No. I'm not going to tell you, _Bonnie_!"

"Ugh. Marceline, why not?" the princess was a little more than annoyed at this point.

"Because you didn't say sorry."

"_ECXCUSE ME?!"_ was Bubblegum's response.

"Yeah, you didn't say that you were sorry."

_"FOR WHAT?! WHAT DID I SAY?!"_

"Well, for starters, you didn't apologize for me being difficult-"

"B b-but… WHAT?" Bonnibel was having a hard time understanding the vampire's logic.

"-and for trying to examine me. You should either be interrogating the attacker or checking on Finn. I can take care of myself, Bonnibel."

"Check on Finn?" the princess asked, "Why would we need to check on him?"

"Ohhhh," exclaimed the vampire queen, "You don't know. Anyway, the demon attempted to stab Finn, so I tackled him through a window." Marceline said this as cheerfully as possible, causing her to giggle slightly.

"Somebody really needs to tell me these things. I had no idea that _that_ thing was after Finn. Also, sorry I was being rude to you. I didn't know the full extent of the situation."

"That's okay, Bonnie." The vampire held her hand on the princess's shoulder, "You can't always know everything."

"There is something I could know. Marceline, are you going to tell me the identity of that idiot who attacked Finn? I apologized to you."

"Oh, I don't actually _know_ who he is. I just know that he's part demon and part candy. He is also a wizard of some sort."

"Okayyyy, very… helpful."

"Hey, can I borrow that umbrella?"

"Sure. Where are you going?"

"To make sure my friend wasn't _killed_ while I was out fighting. I'll meet you in the interrogation room afterwards." The vampire smiled, turning towards the window facing the hospital. She looked out into the ravaged town square and took off flying.

"Okay, Bub," demanded the figure, who was covered in an executioner's cowl, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Silence. "I mean it, freak! Tell me or I'll hammer your face in!" The restrained demon remained voiceless. "That's it you weirdo. You're dead!" The furious dog morphed his fist into a spiked boulder and raised it above his head. The demon effortlessly broke through his pathetic restraints and grabbed Jake's wrist.

The dog stared blankly at the half-demon who had since firmly grasped Jake's neck, slowly choking the adventurer. Green was tightening his grip on his adversary, "You're only still alive because I'll enjoy killing your friends in front of you." To Jake's horror, Green was smiling. His teeth were long and sharp, with hints of blood at the tips, "Because I _really_ don't like you." The dog screamed momentarily, then passed out from fear. Green chuckled, and let the shape-shifting dog fall to the ground. He had plans for today. No more hesitation.

"No more distractions!" Green softly mumbled to himself. He turned himself invisible again, aimlessly wandering the caverns beneath the Candy jail. _Wow. There are _a lot_ of tunnels down here, so many paths to take. It must've taken a madman to design it._ The half-demon said this softly to himself as well.

"You're half right, you know. It does take a madman to design this maze" Green spun around, only to see nothing. His periphery caught a glimpse of a moving object, but he turned to see emptiness. "Or should I say, mad_woman_?" The half-demon extended his claws, preparing for a strike. "But, this place is only designed to _trick_ you into walking in circles." Green swiped, but his claws connected with the air.

"Why are you following me?! You are literally stopping my every action!" exclaimed the assassin.

"I get that a lot," replied Marceline, "I take pride in annoying creeps like you. It's soon becoming a hobby."

"You're starting to annoy me, bloodsucker. I could take you in a fight. Just like I did before."

Marceline let out an audible chuckle, "Oh, dumb demon boy. I'm in my element now. There's no sunlight here to stop me."

"Who exactly _are_ you, vampire?"

"Certainly not the type to give you information without receiving some first."

"I'd rather fight you instead!" Instantly, he felt a sharp pain slash his back. Green spun quickly, but the vampire was much faster than he could comprehend. Every single sound that echoed through the cavern made the assassin flinch. The half-demon was soon covered in cuts and gashes. Gasping for breath, Green pleaded with his opponent, "What do you want to know? I'll tell you if you let me live."

"That's what I wanted to here." Marceline enjoyed making the assassin squirm. "Why were you going to kill Finn?"

"How about we start with a different question? I'm not sure I can answer it just yet." Readying his claws, Green awaited a strike. Sweat rolling down his face, the assassin was nervously shaking. _Should I risk telling her? What would _he_ think?_ He heard a dripping sound echo through the tunnel. Green felt liquid rolling down his back.

"Tell me now, and I _might not_ rip your heart out of your body!" Green started shaking, feeling lightheaded.

"I…I need to stab him too…bring back…my master…" The demon gulped. "With my black blade, I would stab the heart of the Lich bearer and revive the dark lord."

"Lich bearer?"

"The human is the host to The Lich. The black sword is a dark and magical artifact from beyond this universe. It's called the Never Blade. According to legend, when the blade punctures the heart of the Lich bearer, The Lich will rise from the ashes and conquer this land. Those who have served him will live in paradise and those who defy him will suffer."

"I'm assuming that you are an associate of The Lich, right? Who exactly are you?" Marceline made a mental checklist of everything that the demon told her.

"I am Green, personal reconnaissance officer to the demon king himself." The demon smiled with pride, obviously devoted to the conquest of his master.

"What's your _real_ name? Green has to be a codename or something." Marceline was intrigued by the story presented by the assassin. She would get as much information out of him as she could before he inevitably bled out.

"Although my real name is Forsezan, my new name was given to me by the dark lord. Forsezan is no longer who I am. Green represents the color of the flames that the new world will be birthed from." As he spoke these words, blood began to trickle down his face. As resilient as he was, Forsezan wouldn't last much longer.

"How can the Never Blade be destroyed?"

"That's the best part. It's completely indestructible. It was created from pure darkness and pure light."

"Pure light? What does that have anything to do with Ooo's destruction?"

"I can't tell you that much, vampire. Actually, you never told me your name. I-*cough cough*" The demon burst into a fit of coughing. Blood spurted from his mouth.

"Forsezan! Tell me about the light side of the sword!" The assassin simply laughed and fell to the ground, coughing up lots of blood.

"_ALL HAIL THE LICH! ALL HAIL TH-" _Marceline pulled out her bloodied hand from Forsezan's back. She refused to refer to him by his other name, as she didn't want to acknowledge the possibility of Ooo drowning in green flames. She simply dug her fangs into the assassin's cold, dead flesh and drained the remaining blood from his veins.

It was starting to get old. Nothing changed. Peebles was still blasted with green flames. Jake was still crushed under rock, and Marceline was still buried under rubble. He knew the outcome every time, but he still couldn't stop this from happening. Finn knew that the dream would reoccur as often as it wanted, and nothing would change. It was routine. The hero had memorized every turn of the dungeon, every hidden monster's location, and knew exactly what his friends were going to say. He committed the entire adventure to memory, practically completing the dungeon in one stride. Finn had since noticed the Cosmic Owl in his dream, alerting him to the fact that the dream was either prophetic or involved future events. That was the only reason his sanity survived during these dreams: to find a way to save his friends.

After every dream was another confrontation with The Lich. Finn had gotten no better and fending off his enemy, and he ended passing out and awaking in his dungeon. This endless cycle repeated for months on end. Then, one day, he had enough.

He awoke in his void, staring at The Lich. Green flames consumed the skeleton's hands. Expecting a reaction, The Lich was confused when Finn refused to move.

"No," whispered the human, barely audible. He stared at The Lich. The hero's eyes narrowed, his arms spread out wide. "I refuse to be a part of this game. I refuse to play your _stupid_ mind games. What are you waiting for?! BLAST ME TO DEATH!" The Lich stopped hesitating and obliged to the human's wish. Burning into his dream, Finn told himself to do the opposite of what he would do if he was actually in that situation. He was going to do anything to mess with The Lich.

After Marceline got the information out of Forsezan (and after Jake woke up), Princess Bubblegum called an emergency meeting. The meeting took place in the main candy hall, which seemed enormously empty due to the fact that the meeting was so small. Those in attendance were: PB (obviously), Jake, Marceline, Cinnamon Bun, and Peppermint Butler. Peebles had a large chalkboard in order to write all of the information down.

"So," started the princess, "Shall we start?"

Bubblegum handed the chalk to Marceline, who turned to face her audience, "I'll start with the basics: Finn is currently possessed by The Lich, but is incapacitated for the time being due to his coma. The assassin attempted to stab Finn through his heart because he believed that it would give The Lich the power to conquer Ooo. The sword in question is called the Never Blade, which is now in our possession. According to the Forsezan, the assassin, it is made from pure dark and pure light and originates from outside of our universe," The vampire paused and looked at her captivated audience, then returned to speaking, "I don't know why the blade is made in part from pure light, he died before he could tell me. Also, we've attempted to destroy this blade by any means possible, but it seems to be indestructible. That is all."

"Thank you, Marceline." Bubblegum now took over the chalkboard, "I have a plan, and none of you are going to like it."


	9. Divergence

***AN* Chapter 9 is here. Thank you to all of you who have read this story up to this point. If you want to compliment me, criticize me, or just comment in general, leave a review (it would mean the world to me, PWEAZE?). I digress. Anyway, Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. With the exception of Forsezan/Green, Dana the tree witch, and some others I will introduce later, I do not own any characters portrayed in this fan fiction. As always, enjoy, review, and do what you will.**

Marceline crept through the forest with a watchful eye on the canopy above her. She didn't know the time of day, as she had been wandering for hours, days even, so she had to be cautious for stray beams of sunlight that could potentially kill her. Despite this, the vampire queen was very, very bored. She expected to fight hordes of monsters and battle treacherous bosses when she embarked on her escapade. She instead was wasting precious time aimlessly traversing Ooo's thickest forest. Marceline desperately wanted her flight restored so she could skip the dense foliage blocking her path. The vampire queen was, unfortunately, weakened due to the lack of red in her area.

Every so often, Marceline would hear bushes rustling and animal cries, but she knew better than to attempt an attack, as it was a trick to lure the vampire queen away from her destination. Marceline had centuries to practice her self-control, but this was difficult, even for her. She was desperate for red, even considering to suck on her axe-bass when she stumbled into a clearing. There was a lion-gator feasting on a freshly dear carcass. The reptilian feline craned its head to look at the vampire queen who had entered his domain. Baring her fangs, Marceline scared the predator away. She then refocused her attention to the dear. Its blood was guzzling from its wounds, staining the grass red. _Blood. I haven't had animal blood in a long time. I wonder if it's still as good now as it was then_. Her mind was practically pushing her towards her meal. This wasn't going to be pretty.

After dining on her food, Marceline continued on with her journey. She left behind a gray husk of an animal, with puncture wounds present at its neck. The blood from the grass was gone, and there was only a stain of what used to be. With her vampire powers restored, Marceline zipped into the forest. Colors blurred past her vision. Mostly green and brown, except for a blue outline seen in her periphery. The vampire queen stopped dead in her tracks, turning her neck to view the misplaced blob of color. She saw a simple blue house covered in (and surrounded by) thick vines. She had reached her destination.

The vampire queen took a couple of hesitant steps forward. Stepping onto the wooden boards which made up the front porch, Marceline found the boards to be very old and creaky. She resolved to elevate herself slightly off of the ground to avoid any unwanted noises. She leaned her body over so she could see into the windows. She saw furniture covered in cobwebs, dusty paintings, and broken glass from beneath the shattered light bulbs. Reaching for the door, Marceline noticed that the brass knob was unnaturally clean in comparison to the interior of the house. She grasped the knob (that's what she said) and twisted it on its hinges. She instantly was pulled violently backwards at a rate that caused her back to arch at a painfully unnatural angle.

As the vampire queen was thrust into the air, she heard a cackling noise emanating from the house. She looked down and gazed upon her old nemesis: Maja the sky witch. She wasn't exactly Marceline's enemy as she was more like someone who took the most precious thing that she owned. "Maja," the vampire queen yelled, as she was pulled into the air, "What are you doing here?" Maja took her head and placed it in her hand, which was being supported by the other arm. She clearly wasn't excited to see Marceline.

"Why does everybody call me that?" angrily asked the woman, "She's my sister! We look nothing alike!"

"Could've fooled me," retorted the vampire queen, "I mean, you are the same height, have the same hair, the same laugh, and the same face. Were you guys switched at birth?" Marceline, despite the fact that she was being held upside down from about thirty feet above the ground by some magical vines, still acted as if this was a joke. That was how the vampire queen operated. She didn't take anything seriously unless it directly threatened her or her friends. Since Marceline couldn't see any sunlight around, she wasn't in any immediate danger.

"I'll have you know that I'm Dana, the tree witch! Fear my power over the forest!" The tree witch smiled in pride, acting as if the mere _mention_ of her name would strike fear into the hearts of the masses. It did not.

"Whoah, guys," mockingly imitated Marceline, "I'm the _tree_ witch and I'm gonna bury you in _leaves_!" This immediately sent the vampire queen into a fit of laughing, "Why are you the _tree_ witch? Wouldn't you sound more threatening as the _forest_ witch?"

Dana's smile faded, "I'll have you know that I don't bury people in leaves! That was years ago!" This made the vampire queen chuckle even harder, "I'm the tree witch because tree is one syllable like _sky_, or _Cave_ witch." Marceline calmed herself down. She reached her hands behind her back, and with lightning-fast speed, she swung her axe-blade through the vines restraining her ankles. She floated gracefully to the ground, watching as the towering pillars of vines toppled over.

"Alright, Dana," Said the vampire queen, nonchalantly, "You're going to give me your infinity herbs. If you don't, I'll burn this forest to_ the ground_." Dana backed away in fear. Marceline dashed forward and grabbed the tree witch by her collar. The witch screamed. As if responding to her cries, the canopy over the two women opened up, revealing a ray of sunlight. When it made contact with Marceline's face, the cold, dead skin started bubbling from the heat. While the vampire queen was writhing in pain, Dana waved her arms in the air. The grass grew around Marceline's feet. Jungle vines wrapped around the vampire's wrist. The grass knotted itself around Marceline's feet. She was restrained in a standing position. The sunlight still burning through Marceline's skin, Dana laughed maniacally.

"Alright, vampire," said Dana, mocking Marceline's tone, "You're going to tell me your story. If you don't I'll burn you to _the ground_." The canopy returned to its former position, relenting its attack on the vampire queen's face. The bubbles instantly died down thanks to Marceline's super healing, but she was still out of breath.

"Is that *huff* *huff*, what you feed off? Maja *huff* feeds off of objects of emotional value, so do you *huff* get your energy from life stories?" Marceline's breath returned as she awaited her adversary's response.

"Yes. If you leave anything out, I will burn you alive."

"Alright, Dana. Get ready for one _hell _of a story," Marceline smiled, remembering her earliest memories, "It all started with a city, a crown, and a doll…"

Jake was cold. It was a familiar kind of cold, however. The Ice Kingdom was a place that held many of the magical dog's memories: saving Peebles from the Ice King, saving Peebles from the Ice King again, saving Peebles... _Man, PB used to get kidnapped a lot._ Jake, despite the pat grievances, had grown closer to Ice King as a friend. After Jake got past the fact that he was old and weird, IK could be a pretty cool guy (pun intended). To Jake's side was Lady Rainicorn, his loving wife. The pair had been suffering through the cold for a while. Lady was on Penguin watch while Jake kept an eye out for the wizard of the region.

Princess Bubblegum had assigned Jake and Lady to find the most evil being in Ooo and bring it back to the Candy Kingdom for extraction. They first tried to use Finn, as he was hosting The Lich, but the demon king was mostly inactive. They tried Flame King, but they couldn't get him out of the Royal Lantern. It didn't help that they had to interact with Flame Princess, who was still blamed herself for Finn's coma. Jake and Lady Rainicorn reluctantly went into the Nightosphere to find Hunson Abadeer. Marceline's father informed the couple of an evil so vast that it threatened Ooo's very existence: Gunter the penguin. Although the two mortals laughed for minutes after receiving the news, they stopped after realizing the serious look on Hunson's face. That is how Jake the dog and Lady Rainicorn found themselves in the Ice Kingdom, looking for the Ice King's faithful companion.

"(Jake, look!)" Said Lady, in Korean, "(There are some penguin feet sticking out of the snow!)"

The shape-shifting dog craned his neck to observe Gunter trying desperately to get himself out of the snow. Stretching his arms, Jake pulled the penguin out of the snow and into his arms. The penguin responded with a thankful, "Wenk."

"Lady," asked Jake, "How do we know if this is the evil one?"

"(We'll just grab a couple more and hope we got the right one.)" So the couple, once again, found themselves traversing the cold mountainous region in search of more penguins. After Jake collected a dozen or so Gunters (which he stored in his giant belly pouch), Lady Rainicorn flew them back to the Candy Kingdom. After landing in Peebles's lab, the penguins were put into a capsule with a beaker on top. Peebles individually tested each penguin with a horrified expression.

"What is it, Prubs?" asked Jake, "You look like you've seen a ghost!" Lady nodded at his joke, despite the fact that it was really stupid and old.

"It appears that every _one _of these penguins possess a psychological map that is bred for pure _evil_. It could mean the end of _Ooo_ if Ice King realized the potential of his pets."

"(What should we do?)" Asked Lady. She had a concerned look on her face, like if one of her kids died.

"For now, all I can do is use their evil neurons to make a serum which would hopefully wake up Finn and expel The Lich."

"If it helps Finn, then I'm all ears." To emphasize his point, Jake literally transformed himself into a large set of ears, causing Lady to laugh again.

"Alright," said Peebles, "I should be done in a couple of hours. I'll call both of you when I'm done."

"… And that is the story of how my dad ate my fries." Marceline paused waiting for a response from her audience. Dana clapped loudly and obnoxiously. Tears were strolling down her face.

"That was excellent, Marceline! What's next?" The tree witch looked eager to keep listening. In truth, Dana had collected enough story energy to last her for days, but she was just sooo invested in Marceline's life story. Unbeknownst to the witch, she had spilled her story capturing potion during Marceline's story, but she hadn't noticed.

"I think it's time for me to stretch my bones, Dana." The vampire queen burst through her weak imprisonment and grabbed her axe-bass off of the ground.

"You've asked for it now, Marceline!" She raised her hand, and nothing happened. Looking up, Dana noticed that it was nighttime.

"Where are your infinity herbs, hag?" Marceline was pissed, "I need them to help a friend!"

"Th-through my garden, down the cellar, and into the 14th cabinet to the left." Dana spoke fast, barely having enough air to finish her sentence.

"Thank you." Replied Marceline, as she dashed to the garden. Dana collapsed, petrified with fright.

Bonnibel wasn't going to tell Jake and Lady when she finished her serum. She honestly had no idea if it would work, or have any effect on Finn, but she didn't want to pointlessly risk the lives of two innocent people. She strapped on her science goggles, pulled on her purple-translucent gloves, and draped herself in her lab coat.

"Here goes nothing." Said the princess.


	10. Colors

***AN* Chapter 10 has arrived. Before I start, I would like to thank everyone who has read the story up to this point. I have recently passed 600 views and counting. I also noticed while rereading my story on this sight that my scene transitions don't save from Microsoft Word to the website. From here on out, I'll try to remember putting the scene transitions when brining this to the upload center. Also, for those who care about length (which I'm sure is just me), I'm passing 15,000 words in this chapter! Also passing 30 pages on Microsoft Word. This is a chapter to celebrate! I digress. Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. With the exceptions of the Original Characters and the plot, nothing portrayed in this fan fiction belongs to me. Regardless, enjoy, review (please), and do what you will.**

He turned left instead of right. His instincts and his previous experiences told him to turn right, but he was going to defy The Lich today. He would do everything wrong and see how his adversary liked it. There was one big downside to turning left, however, as Finn had no idea to expect by going down this path. Luckily, in his dream, his friends were by his side and ready to deal with any surprises along the way. A zombie would spring from an underground trap and Marceline would slice it in half. A skeleton would drop from the ceiling and Jake would punch it to pieces.

The further down the path that the adventurers travelled, Finn would get weaker. He supposed that this was The Lich's doing, as if he was being punished for disobeying. _No! I'm supposed to be kicking _his_ butt by retaliating, not the other way around!_ The young hero resorted to using his Demon Blood Sword as a cane. It may have looked pathetic, but it worked for the time being. He trudged along with his friends, hoping that he could accomplish something_, anything_ by choosing this path. _What did I think would happen if I went this way? Did I think that I could magically defeat The Lich by going the way that he didn't want me to? How stupid! I'll never know how to save these three, let alone myself._

After hours of wandering around the surprisingly well lit dungeon (actually, where was the light coming from? There were no torches on the wall, or anything luminous in the entire complex. It was light all by itself.), the adventurers reached a large room. This room was made out of a black, obsidian-like stone instead of the dull red rock of the hallways from which they just exited. In the center of the room was a sacrificial altar raised off of the ground by a series of platforms that acted like steps in a pyramid. The ceiling was covered in ancient writing that neither Marceline nor Bubblegum understood. The entire was littered with skeletons sprawled in painful poses. On the altar itself lay another body, this one was fully clothed and had skin. _What happened here?_

Princess Bubblegum approached the altar cautiously. In her right hand, she held her ball blam burglerber, and she held a vial of chemicals in her left. As the princess closed in on the altar, Finn fell onto his knees in a fit a coughing. He felt green plumes of flames cook his insides. Blood came falling out of the hero's mouth as he clutched his head in pain. Jake and Marceline knelt down to aid their pained companion. Bubblegum kept climbing towards the altar, as she was too far ahead to hear the human's agonizing moans. Step after step, the princess was determined to discover what awaited her at the pinnacle of the dungeon.

The whispers in Finn's head ceased, as did the pains in his lungs. His strength started returning, actually. The human stood up with the help of his two friends. Suddenly, a scream echoed through the large cave. Atop the altar stood Forsezan, holding PB by the throat. Marceline stared in disbelief at the assassin that she killed months before, and Jake shook in fear. Finn started to run, but stopped when the demon started to glow green. His body was surrounded by an aura of green flames, making it seem like he was on fire. _Wait. Green flames? Evil presence? Shit. It's him._ Bubblegum's screams grew louder every passing moment. Forsezan grinned, his grin turned into a laugh, and his laugh grew to an evil cackle.

"How are you going to save her _this_ time, hero?" Forsezan spoke in a deep and ancient voice, erasing any doubt of his identity, "How are you going to save _Ooo_?" The Never Blade glowed on Finn's back, shining with an angelic light. It appeared pure white in stark contrast to its black form.

"Half-light energy," murmured Marceline. Wielding the Never Blade, Finn gained newfound confidence.

"Like this." With his simple sentence structure, Finn led his two friends to battle against Forsezan the Lich King.

Every day, she would cry. She would walk to her bathroom and cry. She didn't know why, as it had been 5 months since she'd scorched Finn. Why was she still crying? Flame Princess was losing sleep. She couldn't concentrate on ruling her kingdom if she couldn't sleep. That would make her look weak. She remembers the day clearly. She purposely wandered into the heroes on the way to The Lich. She lied to him about the state of the Fire Kingdom to impress him. She burned him. The ruler of the Fire Kingdom felt evil. She broke her number one rule and lied to him. In reality, the economy of the Fire Kingdom was slowly descending into chaos. People would be completely honest with each other, offend the other with their opinion, and start a fight. The majority of the kingdom was on strike in protest of the honesty policy.

Crime rates had skyrocketed in the past several months, and no amount of encouraging speeches could settle the masses. It was absolute pandemonium. The other kingdoms looked down upon the blazing city. It didn't help FP that her father would constantly shout criticisms from his prison. Many citizens were making plans to overthrow their ruler. A large group of rebels called True Fire set out to overthrow or kill the usurper and give the throne back to Flame King. Flame Princess was completely stressed out. She was deep in thought one day when one of her guards rushed into the palace.

"You have a visitor, your highness!" The guard was around seven feet tall and made from molten rock. He spoke urgently, but that was probably so he could go back to the gate and talk with his friends. He held a large black axe that was almost as tall as the figure himself. He waited patiently for Flame Princess to respond.

"Cinnamon Bun!" called the fire elemental. She got no response, "I need you to check on our visitor!" Still silence.

"Daughter," spoke the Flame King, still in his prison, "You let him go on vacation last week. Don't you remember?" He was obviously disappointed with his usurper.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." Flame Princess turned her attention to the guard, "Send him in. Tell him that he must be quick." Her voice was authoritative and loud. Although the kingdom around her was tearing itself apart, she still sounded in charge.

The guard led in a hooded figure. He was a tall male, almost as tall as the guards. Immediately dropping to his knees, the young ruler approached, "We do not wear hoods in the Fire Kingdom, as it lies to others about our appearance. Remove it at once." The figure, still resting on its knee, pulled the hood back to reveal a head of short, white hair. "You have permission to rise. What business do you have here?" The figure stood. He stood half a foot taller than the young queen and brandished a set of stark green eyes. His skin was a light blue and had many scars. He was obviously a warrior of some kind.

"Hello, Flame Queen," greeted the man, "I am Sir Xavier of the Grass Kingdom. I am here to discuss matters of commerce between our kingdoms." Xavier smiled genuinely at FP, whose face remained straight and unapologetic. She had become very good at holding back her emotions when she talked to other people. Minutes earlier, Flame Princess was crying profusely in her chamber. Now, she was serious and ready for business.

"Follow me," commanded the fire elemental, "Guards! Return to your stations!" The magma men immediately exited the royal palace. Flame Princess led her guest to her 'politics room' which was really just a storage closet with a map of Ooo hanging on the wall. The actual meeting hall was destroyed a week before by True fire, and the meetings took place in the politics room until renovations were complete. A lone, lava-rock table sat in the center of the room and was flanked by matching chairs on all sides.

"What are you here to discuss, Sir Xavier?" While she remained serious on the exterior, Flame Princess was overjoyed on the inside. Her kingdom seriously needed good relations with at least _one_ other kingdom in order to boost their image and economy. She hadn't been approached by an ambassador from another kingdom since she usurped the throne. The fire elemental desperately needed something, _anything_ to fix her kingdom!

"I'm sorry to say this," replied Xavier, "We are going to have to severe any economical ties to you." Flame Princess's jaw dropped to the ground. The fire elemental was exasperated. Things where _finally_ looking up, and they went and destroyed any hope she had in her kingdom.

"B-b..but, why?" FP stammered, barely forming the words to speak, "You don't need to cut yourselves off from this kingdom!" She was ready to plead, ready to give in to any demands thrown her way. She _needed_ to save her kingdom.

"No, not the Fire Kingdom," answered Xavier, a wicked smile curling on his face, "Just _you_!" With that, Xavier raised his hand. Water droplets started falling from the ceiling, despite the fact that there was no water anywhere in the kingdom. The tiny droplets soon fell into the open palm and began forming into a handle.

"Water conjurer-" the princess felt cold, icy hands cover her mouth. She tried to scream, but her cries were muffled by Xavier's outstretched hand. She couldn't fight a water conjurer. Fire wouldn't even _damage_ this man. She was left to cower in fear. The handle of water in Xavier's hand grew to a point, now being a water sword.

"If you don't scream, I'll let you have your last words, _girl_." Xavier's hand slowly pulled away from the mouth of FP. Her eyes were widened in horror, her body trembling.

"Why are you doing this?" FP's voice was shaking and her eyes began to water (well, actually it was magma, oh never mind).

Xavier let out a smile, "All who stood before him shall fall. His final revenge will come when his enemies lie dead in a pool of their own blood. I am the bringer of night. I am the bane of the day. I am _Black_!"

"Well that was a _terrible_ idea!" The heartbeat monitor spiked, meaning Finn's pulse skyrocketed. Her serum had sent a violent reaction throughout the catatonic hero. His arms failed around, foam dribbled from his mouth, and it took several minutes for his body to rest. Bonnibel sighed "I guess we can rule out evil upon evil." Literally pulling a checklist out of her purse, the princess checked off the square 'evil upon evil' (yes, she actually had an option called evil upon evil).

Walking back to her lab, Bonnibel felt tired. This was unusual, as the princess could hold back her sleepiness in times of stress. She knew she had an awake serum in her lab, so the princess hurried to her destination. _Where was Peppermint Butler when you needed him? Gambling with Death._ _Again_. The princess had been awake for 48 hours, which was nothing to her. Why was she so tired? She walked up the stairs to her laboratory. She reached the 'completed experiments' cabinet and searched tiredly for her serum. She pulled out a vial containing a light green liquid. On the shaft of the tube, it was labeled 'awake serum'. She took a swig and felt the drink slide down her throat. Why wasn't she feeling less tired?

_Yuck! This doesn't taste like my awake serum! I wonder… Did someone put sleep serum in my awake serum? I need better security in this place. Who could've snuck in here?_ As she felt the drowsiness take its course, she laid down against her back wall. She looked up, trying in vain to fight the sleep off. _Wait, there's some writing up there! Oh no, my vision is getting blurry._ She squinted her eyes, only barely able to make out the simple word. _Orange_. Her eyes closed and she drifted into a reluctant slumber.


	11. Violence is Never the answer

***AN* Chapter 11. IMPORTANT MESSAGE: THIS CHAPTER IS MUCH MORE VIOLENT AND GRAPHIC THAN MY OTHER CHAPTERS. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE SQUEAMISH, SKIP TO THE AN AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER FOR THE DETAILS YOU MISSED.**

**I lied. I'm too lazy to put in scene transitions. I tried to on the fan fiction website, but for some reason, it didn't work. From here on out, I will add worded scene transitions, so that it saves when I publish this story. Special thanks to "B1BL10PH1L3" for regularly reviewing my stories and giving me some helpful criticism. As always, Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. With the exception of the plot and the original characters, nothing portrayed in this fan fiction belongs to me. So, sit back, enjoy, review, and do what you will. **

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Her hyper-sensitive ears were still ringing from the explosion she just flew by. She dove under a collapsing stalactite and whizzed by a legion of cave trolls. Marceline landed behind the army, taking in the full scale as she descended. The entire cave was filled with trolls, goblins, skeletons, and countless other monsters that were after her blood. Not that she would give them a chance to take it. She dashed forwards with her axe-bass cocked back. The vampire queen let it fly at a large reptile while she clawed her way through the ranks. _This is more like it!_ She felt alive (figuratively): slicing down bad guys and having a great time!

Marceline flew to the wall and grabbed her axe-bass, which was unceremoniously jutting out from the wall. She gracefully dive-bombed into the crowd below her, knocking away any monster in close range. The vampire queen then locked eyes with a rock golem and dove straight for him. She swung her deadly instrument at the golem's midsection, which was separated from its body. Before its torso could hit the ground, Marceline sent out a powerful kick that sent the remainder of the boulders flying in all directions. While the immediate monsters around her were dazed, the vampire queen felt wings growing out of her back. Her cold skin grew fur and her body grew to an enormous size. She was now a giant, towering bat-thing. Marceline stomped her large, furry foot, crushing dozens of skeletons in an instant. The vampire queen felt exhilarated, something she hadn't felt in months.

Marceline soon found herself drenched from head to toe in blood. Her clothes were ripped and she was tired. She sat back against the wall, ready to doze off and regain her strength. She had her fill of red for the day and was satisfied with the bloodshed she had caused. _Since when did I start thinking like that? I'm not a mindless killer._ It was probably the side of Marceline she inherited from her father that was speaking. The vampire queen used to be like her father, long ago, before she met Finn. She had always felt indebted to the hero, as he helped influence Marceline to be a better person. He quickly became her closest friend and the most understanding person she had met. _He didn't even judge me for hating my father over some French fries!_ The whole reason she found herself on this quest was to gather the necessary items for his recovery. She closed her eyes, reflecting on all the good times she had with the human.

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"You don't have to listen to him, Xavier! The Lich is playing tricks on your mind!" Flame Princess was pleading with her potential-murderer. Maybe she could hold him off long enough to formulate an escape plan.

"You misunderstand, young queen. The Lich is my savior. He wouldn't trick those who follow his example. I will live in paradise when he reigns supreme, while those who oppose him will suffer." Xavier was obviously too caught up in his speech to remember his promise to let Flame Princess have only _one_ set of last words.

"So, is this your plan? To kill Ooo's royalty and assume their positions? Nobody would fall for that." FP could see the annoyance creep up on Xavier's face. Maybe her plan was working after all.

"No! That's not our plan! That would be a terrible idea!" The Lich's follower calmed himself down considerably, "We will siphon the energy of the Never Blade into the Lich bearer. Then, our master would rise from the evil energy and conquer this plane of existence! What do you not understand about that?" Xavier was getting mad and Flame Princess could tell. She looked around the room for any means of escape. There were no ventilation shafts in the room, no hidden grates, just the door that Xavier blocked. _This may be my only chance to leave_.

The princess flashed her light as bright as she could. The assassin covered his eyes, backing away from the solar flare. While he was still blinded, FP turned herself into a spear of flames and shot herself at full speed towards the door. The magma rock that made up the exit was ripped from its hinges as the fire elemental blazed through the palace. There was only one problem: Xavier was still holding on.

The princess twirled through the air in a desperate attempt to shake off her unwanted passenger. Xavier's fingers gripped tightly into the fire elemental's skin, strengthening his grip. Flame Princess felt the pain shoot through her sides as the assassin clutched on for dear life. The moment of pain distracted the princess long enough for Xavier to get a better grip on his sword, which he still held in his left hand. Raising the blade as high as he could given the circumstances, the assassin yelled wildly as he lowered the sword into the princess's side.

Flame Princess let out a bloodcurdling scream. The fire elemental simply dropped out of the sky and landed in the center of her kingdom. The house which FP landed on was completely destroyed. Xavier crawled slowly off of the princess's back. He could tell that his rubs cracked due to the impact and his right arm was broken. The assassin had lost his sword in the fall and now had nothing to defend himself. Not that he needed to. Flame Princess's side was completely dowsed of light. Lava blood surrounded her body. She groaned softly, indicating that she was still alive. Xavier slowly raised his left arm in the air and waited for his sword to return to him. It came in pieces, but in formed in his hand before the magma guards could get to the scene. He walked his way to the princess's body, dragging the sword at his side.

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Her peaceful slumber didn't last. She was interrupted by a loud roar emanating from deep within the cave. Grabbing her axe-bass, the vampire queen floated towards the sound. Marceline had the forethought to turn herself invisible before challenging the obviously loud monster. She would live (figuratively) to thank herself for doing so.

She finally got sight on the beast: a forty-foot tall goliath with six beefy legs, two heads separated only by inches of space, a large, fat tail with spikes along the shaft, and half a dozen lizard-people riding on its back. Marceline stood in awe of the light-blue monstrosity, until it swung its spiked tail at her. She jumped out of the way a spilt second before she would've gotten swiped. The vampire queen dashed through the air, straight at one of the monster's faces. She dodged its snapping jaws and barreled through the riders of the beast, knocking them all off. Marceline dropped to the monster's back and started to swing violently. She couldn't make a dent. When she swung for a fifth time, she noticed a silver, metallic substance could be seen through the blue skin.

"Ghost metal!" Yelled the vampire queen, "I've found what I'm looking for!" Marceline pulled out a checklist and marked off "Ghost metal monster". Having already crossed off "witch in the forest", she had only one box remaining: Gumball Guardian.

The lizard-people climbed back up the beast while Marceline was lost in thought. When the vampire queen snapped back into reality, she raised her axe-bass and smashed it into the exposed metal of the ghost-metaled beast.

Something you should know about ghost metal is that it is made out of ghost-essence infused steel. Another thing, vampires can't beat ghosts. It's part of nature. Marceline herself couldn't destroy ghost-metal, and she couldn't destroy it with her axe-bass because a vampire was wielding it. The vampire queen knew full well of the rules of vampire, ghost, human (like rock, paper, scissors), so she knew the strike wouldn't dent the armor of the beast. What _did_ happen was a large wall of sparks flew when the deadly instrument struck the undead metal. The resulting flash of light lasted long enough for Marceline to grab a disoriented lizard-person, make him grab her axe-bass, and throw him into the exposed area of steel. This time, given that the axe-bass was of demon make, sliced through the armor and subsequently through the skin of the beast.

Blood instantly flowed through the open wound. The unfortunate lizard-person who sliced through the skin of the monster found himself choking on blood and subsequently drowning. Marceline found herself floating above the geyser of blood, which was now rushing towards the remaining mutants. _How much blood does this thing have? I don't even think it has the capacity to _hold_ that amount of blood._ The vampire queen extended her claws and raced down towards her struggling enemies. One by one, she would dismember them. The first was decapitated, the second was stabbed through the chest, and the third drowned in the sea of blood and guts. Three reptilians remained. _I think I'll take my time with these three_.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

***AN* Marceline battles a bunch of monsters and stuff, gets tired, and falls asleep. We learn that she's on her quest to find a cure for Finn. FP stalls for time while talking to Black/Xavier and hastily escapes. Unfortunately, she accidentally brought him too and gets stabbed, nearly dying. Xavier walks up to her beaten body and… **

** Marceline gets woken up by some roaring, and finds a large beast covered in ghost metal (Vampires can't harm ghosts) and quickly finds a loophole and kills it. She also kills the lizard-people who were riding on the beast. End chapter.**

**I think I'll start writing ending Author's Notes from this chapter on. I like the idea of having a break between the end of the chapter and a place to put any specific notes that may contain spoilers. Anyway, what did you guys think? Did you like it? Tell me what I did wrong. As always, I thank you for reading, and you guys are awesome!**


	12. Forever

***AN* Chapter 12. Yes, I've been in Florida since Friday. Yes, I only got back on Tuesday. Yes, I didn't tell you, and that is the reason why I haven't updated in a while. We didn't have Wi-Fi in our condo, or on the plane, so I couldn't write and or post until now. I hope you guys understand. One good thing that came out of my trip was that I had a lot of time to think, so I planned out a large chunk of the story. So yeah, looking at the bright side.**

** Hey! I've gotten past 900 views! I also passed the one month mark for the writing of this story! Seriously, you guys are the best. Shout out to B1BL10PH1L3 again for leaving an awesome review, and thanks to HoneyBadgerGal for making my day with her nice but critical review. Anything helps you guys! I digress. Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. Aside from the Original Characters and the plot, I own nothing portrayed in this fan fiction. So, read, enjoy (hopefully), review if you have any thoughts, and do what you will.**

It was Science the mouse that woke her up. The intelligent rodent quickly mixed a stronger version of the awake serum and injected her with it. The princess opened her eyes with a start. The word 'Orange' was still visible on the far wall. Her attention turned to a bright light glowing close to the door leading to the rest of the palace. In that spot stood a glowing figure draped in a cloak and was glaring right at her. _That's not good._

Bubblegum quickly jumped up and locked herself in her science shower, the same one where Finn used Science the rat to create a zombie cure. The hooded figure, who she guessed was named Orange, dashed up to the reinforced candy glass and held his hand towards the protected princess. Bonnibel noticed that Orange's hand was made from fire, and was melting through her defenses.

There wasn't a button to press or a phone to call inside her capsule. She felt droplets of sugary sweat roll down her face. Her gummy skin was starting to melt. Bonnibel had her back against the wall of the shower, as far away from the fiery death that was attacking her.

"BANANA GUARDS!" yelled the princess, as loud as she could. There was no response. The floor beneath Bubblegum was pink and sticky. Orange had melted through more than half of the candy glass. _Where is everybody?_ Unbeknownst to PB, however, was that her guards were busy fighting the fires that Orange caused as a distraction. Her Banana Guards wouldn't be around to help her.

Bubblegum felt the life dripping from her body. The hair on her head was falling off, her skin was literally melting onto the floor, and Science the mouse was nowhere to be found. She subtly turned her attention to the door, where Jake and Lady Rainicorn burst through the door. Orange was too wrapped up in assaulting the candy ruler that he didn't notice them or Bubblegum's reaction to their entry. Bonnibel Bubblegum silently gave a look telling the two rescuers that she needed help desperately. Her arms were heavy and her knees were weak **(Eminem reference!)** and she felt herself drifting into sleep. Her eyes closed and she fell to the floor, her tiara clanking onto the ground behind her.

JAKE AND LADY'S POV

The couple burst into Peebles's lab to discover that she was under attack by an angry fire elemental. Jake's expression widened when he noticed the princess's weakened form. She looked at him with pleading eyes. Eyes that flooded with tears. Jake could tell that she was desperate for help, as Bubblegum never cried. The magical dog pulled Lady close to him as he dove behind a counter. They could hear the sound of PB's tiara hitting the ground.

Science the mouse, once again, saved their lives. He ran over to the hidden duo with a black board full of drawings and writing. Showing his plan to Jake and Lady Rainicorn, the candy corn rodent ran and ducked into a hole in the wall.

"Lady," asked Jake, "Can you do that? It looks pretty complicated."

Lady responded with, "(It's not that hard when you're a Rainicorn. Just trust me, Jake.)"

The magical dog reluctantly nodded his head in agreement. He took a science beaker in his hand and prepared to throw it. Suddenly, there was a loud crash erupting from upstairs. The fire elemental turned his attention away from the princess, giving Lady Rainicorn a chance to shine. She aimed her Rainicorn horn at the hole left by the attacker and zapped her color beam right at Princess Bubblegum.

Orange turned around to face his prize: Princess Bubblegum. To his shock, however, there was nothing to be seen. It was as if someone took her away without him knowing it. The angry assassin turned back around and gazed around the lab. There was nothing in sight. Sighing, he flared his flames and spun in a circle, releasing a wave of fire energy across the lab. He smiled, as he sensed two presences around him.

Jake knew what had happened and jumped over the counter that he had crouched behind. Enlarging his fist, the shape-shifter threw a large punch at the hooded fire elemental. Although Orange was thrown back, Jake's fist was severely burnt. He held his smoking hand in pain while Lady Rainicorn shot her magical color beam at the magical dog.

Jake's fur now had the same look as someone enchanted with Flame Shield. Although he did not know how this would help him, it was obvious that Lady had a plan.

Orange got back up and started towards Jake. He stopped when he noticed the color of the dog's fur: Flame Shield Blue. That would mean that his attacks wouldn't damage his adversary. His mouth formed a frown.

Behind the fiery assassin, Lady Rainicorn silently flew to the science shower where PB laid. She had used her Rainicorn powers to zap Bubblegum to the same color as the wall. Hopefully, the fire elemental would be too busy with Jake to notice the candy ruler being carried to safety.

That was, until Lady tripped. It was a strange sight to see: Lady Rainicorn had tripped in midair. How was that even possible? It was because Lady flew directly into PB's invisible wall that the princess used to remain undisturbed while working. Orange turned his attention back around and saw the odd sight. Jake quickly threw another punch at the fire elemental, which was dodged effortlessly. He knelt down and reached for PB's tiara.

"Hey!" yelled an unknown figure, "That's _my_ girl! Nobody kidnaps her but me!" The Ice King had burst through the wall directly behind Orange. The assassin kept his eyes on his prize. The ice wizard took offense to this and blasted an ice beam at the negligent fire elemental.

"How do you like this?" asked the Ice King. Although his icy blasts were melting before they could reach Orange, the water stored in the ice fell onto his back.

"How about some snow!" Ice King was now blasting Orange with a snow beam, which also melted on contact. The assassin yelled in pain. Orange was now thoroughly distracted and Jake took the opportunity to run up to Lady and scoop her in his arms. When they were both out of harm's way, Lady let out a sigh of relief.

Orange knew he wouldn't last long when being pelted with meting ice and snow. Although he didn't want to abandon his mission, he had no choice if he wanted to survive. With the little amount of energy he had, Orange held his hands to the runes on his chest and closed his eyes. Moments later, he found himself in a dark cave. The dark cave that he called home.

THE FIRE KINGDOM…

Flame Princess could barely open her eyes. What she could make out was smoldering ruins and shattered glass. She attempted to move her arms in order to push herself off of the ground, but she had no such luck. She craned her neck to gaze upon the destruction that had happened in the wake of her crash. It seemed like no one had gotten hurt, but the house she crashed into was reduced to rubble and ruins.

The princess felt light-headed. She knew that this was because of the stab wound Xavier had inflicted on her side. The wound was still bleeding profusely and still hurt more than anything she could've imagined. The flames on her body were now a dark red, the coldest color a fire elemental could be. FP couldn't move, couldn't speak, and couldn't defend herself. She knew she would die.

Her thoughts turned to Finn the human. He was the only person she cared about in her entire life, excluding Cinnamon Bun. Flame Princess constantly regretted breaking up with him. She knew her decision was decided solely on the _one_ time he lied to her, and she wished she had taken that fateful day at the Ice Kingdom back. The princess returned her thoughts to the happy times she had shared with the hero. Her weary lips curved into a smile. She would die with the thought of Finn the human engulfing her mind, recollecting the happiest time of her life.

The strangest part about dying, for FP at least, was that she was able to open her eyes again. The young ruler opened her eyes and found herself standing amongst the clouds. Her flames returned to their white-yellow color that they normally burnt at. Next to her floated the large figure of the Cosmic Owl. She scowled at the deity, knowing he was the reason that Finn had lied to her.

The golden bird opened its beak to speak, "Hello, Flame Princess. It is an honor to meet you in person." FP's expression turned to one of anger and resentment.

"WHY DID YOU GIVE FINN THAT STUPID DREAM?!" the princess yelled at the prophetic bird. _He_ was responsible for breaking her up with Finn. Flame Princess's embers were now a deep blue, even making Cosmic Owl back up slightly.

"What I did was purely out of your and Finn's best interests. If the both of you continued down that path, you would've eventually hurt him to the extent of mortal injury, causing you to go into depression. I drove Finn to end your relationship to protect his health and your mental stability. He would've been unfit to protect Ooo after his injuries, and the land would plunge into chaos and disarray.

"I have not brought you here to speak on past events, however. You have proven your loyalty to Ooo by battling The Lich and incapacitating his host. For your sacrifice, I am offering you a choice. You have died, there is no reversing that. The choice I do give you is this: You are able to travel Ooo again, as a spirit, but unable to interact with anyone or anything. The second option for you is to simply go to the Dead World and become a part of Death's collection of souls. I will need your response immediately, or I'll choose for you."

The princess stared in shock at the floating deity. Moments before, she had held a divine hatred for the bird. Now, she had been given an opportunity she couldn't resist, one she would take any day. She spoke with confidence and finality.

"Turn me into a spirit. I need to see _him_ again."

"Very well. I will send you back to your kingdom, so you can watch what happens in the wake of your death…"

***AN* Wow! I finally got through FP's death scene! That took a looooong time. Sorry I couldn't have posted until now. Again, I was in Florida and I couldn't write or post until now. I hope this chapter had enough in it to make up for the time lost. **

** So, what did you guys think? If you have any thoughts on this chapter or the story so far, comment so I know what you guys like and dislike. Every criticism makes me better!**

**-da br0909**


	13. Night

***AN* Chapter 13 has arrived! Thanks to B1BL10PH1L3 yet again, for reviewing. Also, thanks to The Nephilim King Michael for leaving me such a great review! I'm also thanking anyone who has read the story thus far. It makes my heart stop every time I see the viewer countings rise (now 1,000 and rising)! If you have any criticisms, compliments, or any thoughts about this story, leave a review! That way, I'll know what you guys like and dislike. Every review makes me better!**

** Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. Aside from the original characters and the plot, I own nothing portrayed in this fan fiction. Enjoy, review, and do what you will. Without further ado, here is Chapter 13. **

The smell of smoke grew stronger when she neared the Candy Kingdom. Her heightened senses could smell the smoke miles before she even saw it. Marceline stopped in midair when she saw the kingdom burning. It seemed like the walls were melting, the citizens were screaming, and it was just chaos in general.

Oddly enough, the Gumball Guardians were nowhere to be found. The vampire queen looked around until she saw the two large candy dispensers laying on the ground, where they would be found if their was no trouble in the kingdom. _If the Gumball Guardians are out, my job is going to be a whole lot easier._

Before she flew off again, she did an inventory check. Obviously, her axe-bass was slung across her back. In her pack, she found the magical herbs of Dana the Tree Witch, the heart of the ghost-metal beast, a marker, bug milk, and a container of strawberries. Marceline zipped up her pack and zoomed towards her target.

As she had expected, the Gumball Guardians were off. In fact, there was a large switch on the back that was pulled to the 'off' slot. Also on the back of the Gumball Guardians was a large door to the inner workings of the protector. Using her demonic claws, Marceline cut through the metal panel on the back of one Guardian and floated inside. She could see gears and pulleys in every direction. None of them were in motion, but they were everywhere. The vampire queen only had one destination, however: the gumball head.

It took minutes of searching, but Marceline eventually found the hatch leading to the giant candy dispenser's head. Surprisingly, this hatch wasn't locked. The vampire queen entered the glass dome with ease. All she needed to do now was to get one gumball of every color and she would be on her way.

Unfortunately, Bonnibel had programmed the Gumball Guardians to immediately awaken if their gumballs were stolen. Marceline figured this out the hard way when she grabbed a green gumball and placed it in her pack. The floor beneath the vampire queen rumbled violently as the Guardian she stood in turned itself on (**not in that way**). Marceline was flung across the dome and would've crashed into the glass if she didn't stop herself in midair. The gumballs in the head were all rolling around, making Marceline's job that much harder.

She flew herself to a blue gumball and shakily put it in her pack. Unfortunately, the pack was now full, meaning Marceline would have to carry the other two colors of gumball in her hand. The Gumball Guardian turned its attention on Marceline. The massive protector shot a laser beam inside of its own head and barely missed the vampire queen. However, dozens of gumballs were vaporized in the crossfire. Marceline, now holding a red gumball, searched hastily for a pink gumball. This task was made even harder by the fact that dozens of gumballs were being vaporized every couple of seconds. Eventually, the vampire queen eventually found herself carrying the last color of gumball: pink.

Marceline threw herself out of the Gumball Guardian's head. The remaining gumballs rolled out of their massive glass container as the giant candy dispenser fell to the ground. A loud rumble emanated throughout the Candy Kingdom. Every citizen, despite some of them being burnt alive by flames, stopped whatever they were doing and looked at the sight of their fallen guardian. The vampire queen looked down at the scene with a look of embarrassment. _I didn't mean to do all of _that_._

Marceline flew to the Intensive Care Unit where she knew Finn would be resting. Sure enough, the incapacitated hero lay in his normal spot. The heartbeat monitor beside him was beeping at a normal pace. The hero's breathing rate seemed normal, and his body was free of any known diseases. He was perfectly fine, other than the fact that The Lich was rooted into the hero's brain.

There was a familiar scent of bubblegum in the air. Sniffing closely, Marceline could estimate that the princess had been in the room about three hours ago. She confirmed this observation by checking the visitor's clipboard and found Bonnie's name scribbled down at around 10:00 pm. _I'm guessing Bonnie's science couldn't remove The Lich. That's why I'm using good old fashioned exorcism!_

FP'S SPIRIT'S POV (Just trust me, that's grammatically correct)

The deceased princess watched in horror as Xavier pulled his sword out of her body. It was painful, watching her assassin actually finish the job. All around the water elemental were magma guards, all wielding ash guns. The ash guns shot, well _ash_, and were used solely to defeat water-related threats. Xavier knelt down to the princess's lifeless body and pulled out the gem crowning her forehead, leaving an awkward diamond-shaped hole on her head. The dead princess flew down to ground level and continued watching.

The crimson red gem that Xavier held in his hand soon disappeared into a cloud of black smoke. It was at this point where FP took in the extent of the damage to her kingdom. The house which she and Xavier crashed into was almost completely destroyed. It seemed that the majority of the kingdom stood around the scene and stood awestruck. Xavier himself was in terrible shape. His right arm was dangling to his side, his body was covered in large cuts, his breath wheezed out of his mouth, and he walked with a slow, exaggerated shuffle.

The assassin held his hands high, "This day will be remembered forever throughout Ooo. The day darkness fell. The day the kingdom's burst with anarchy, the day where your precious monarchs were stripped of their lives and power. Today is just the beginning. The darkness_ will_ fall. You may call me many names. I am the extinguisher. The sea. Killer of the last flame. However, my true name lies in Ooo's great future. The color of the skies when my master rises. The feeling of emptiness in and loss of hope. I am the bringer of night. I am Black!"

The citizens were captivated by the assassin's speech. The magma guards, however, were training their sights on their regicidal foe. At the end of his speech, Black simply exploded into water. The diameter of the resulting wave of water reached about one-hundred feet. Nearly every citizen who watched his monologue was caught in the torrent of death. Xavier had brought about not only his death and the princess's, but also the death of about 80% if the Fire Kingdom's population.

Flame Princess kneeled to the ground and wept. Her people were dead. Their lives ended with a tsunami of pain and steam. She wished herself to a happier place. Being given the blessing of the Cosmic Owl, FP's spirit could essentially teleport to where she wanted to be. However, there weren't many happy places left on Ooo that day.

Across every kingdom, assassins under the banner of The Lich killed every princess aside from Princess Bubblegum. LSP was poisoned in her sleep. Hotdog princess was taken to a cliff and thrown off of the edge. Doctor Princess was stabbed through the heart by one of her patients. Each and every royal was stripped of their gem of power. The only royals who remained in alive where PB, Marceline, Ice King, and Finn (who was still _technically_ the Goblin King). Even Flame King had been killed while everyone was distracted outside of the palace.

This had been the darkest day Ooo had yet seen. It wasn't the Mushroom War, not even close, but it set the supercontinent down a path which it may not be able to return from. Flame Princess found herself in the Grass Kingdom. As the Grass Kingdom didn't have a ruling body, there wasn't a dead ruler to deal with.

FP walked around the kingdom which she used to call home. The young spirit even passed the long since extinguished ruins of her bonfire home. There was one place Flame Princess knew that she was drawn to: the Tree House. Upon entering the home, she noticed that the place was empty. Sure, BMO was in sleep mode on the ground and Shelby the worm still resided in the viola. That wasn't what she meant. Finn and Jake were gone. She sat herself down, figuring out the next most possible location for the two heroes.

Marceline's POV

The vampire queen took a bucket that she found in the ICU and started mixing her ingredients.

"Crush the herbs, sprinkle with care, clear the pestilence from the air…" Marceline was chanting an incantation while combining all of her items. The incantation had no real purpose other than to pass the time while the concoction was brewing.

"One is green, one is blue. The other is red, but pink's there too!" With that, Marceline had finished. The resulting creation was a thick, sticky mush that was black in color. The vampire queen took a syringe from a drawer and stored some of her mix in the medical item. Placing the syringe on the counter, Marceline looked through her bag for the bug milk and a marker. This would be the hardest part. Well, for _her_ at least.

She carefully drew a circle on the wall. Dotting two eyes and curving a smiley face, she threw the bug milk onto the wall.

"_Maloso Vobiscum Et Cum Spiritum_!" The wall erupted into a large, fiery hole shaped like a demon's mouth. Out stepped her father, Hunson Abadeer, the ruler of the Nightosphere. His skin was much bluer than Marceline's and his eyes had a more exaggerated point to them. He stood tall, where a black business suit, and an amulet hanging down from his neck.

"Marcy!" happily exclaimed Hunson, "How have you been? I haven't heard from you in a while. I was kinda thinking that you may have, you know, got _gotten_." As much as Marceline resented her father, he sometimes could be somewhat charming.

"I'm sure you've heard a lot about what's going on up here."

"Why, you're right! I did hear that the Ice Kingdom's melting and that your friend Bonnibel is a lizard! You should really listen to Starchy's Conspiracy Channel. It's very informative!"

"That's not what I meant, dad. I mean with The Lich!"

"Oh yeah, that. Did you give that old demon a beating?"

"Not exactly…I kinda got injured during the battle and got knocked unconscious."

"Well, who stopped him?"

"That's actually the reason I'm here. Finn defeated The Lich, but almost got possessed. We put him in a coma so that The Lich wouldn't attack. I'm here because I'm going to perform an exorcism and you're going to help me."

"Alright. I always liked that Finn kid anyway. Where is he?"

"Right here." Marceline turned and pointed at the catatonic hero. His condition hadn't changed in the ten minutes that she had been in there.

"Let's get started, Marcy!" Marceline grabbed the syringe and walked over to Finn's body.

"The power of Glob compels you! Leave that pathetic mortal body and be free! By the power of Glob, be free!" As Hunson finished his sentence, Marceline drove the syringe into Finn's wrist. The room suddenly got darker, the lights flickered, and the air was much colder. Both father and daughter could sense an evil presence in the room. Just as quickly as it entered, the entity left and the room returned to its former state.

That was one the hero awakened. He slowly opened his eyes and let out an audible groan. Marceline quickly turned her attention back to the hero.

"Finn!" yelled Marceline, as she hugged her friend. It had been five long months since the battle with The Lich. Everyone in the kingdom, maybe even the majority of Ooo had thought that he wouldn't wake up. Slowly but surely, Finn wrapped his arms around his friend.

"Marcy…" slowly stated the adventurer, "How…long have I…been out?"

"About five months, you weenie!"

Hunson walked back to his portal, "I'll take that as my cue to leave." With that, he walked through and closed the portal.

"Five months?" Although Finn said this much louder than his other words, it was still very soft and didn't sound like he was yelling.

"That's right. Now you're awake. How are you feeling, hero?" Marceline broke the hug and floated off of the bed.

"We need to go, like right NOW!"

***AN* He's back! And long overdue as well. What do you think Finn saw that made him want to leave? What did you guys think? Leave a review if you want to let me know anything. I hope you enjoyed, and thank you all for reading!**

**-da br0909**


	14. The wisps of calamity

***AN* Chapter 14. You guys are the best! Especially those of you who bother to review this story. Thank you! Thanks (as always) to B1BL10PH1L3 for reviewing every chapter. Thanks to DJMidge for leaving me an awesome review. It makes me feel all warm inside whenever I get a positive review on my story. Also, in case you're wondering, I'm post9ng faster because I feel bad about not posting for an entire week. So yeah.**

**Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. Aside from the Original Characters and the plot, I own nothing portrayed in this fan fiction. With that out of the way, enjoy (hopefully), review and do what you will. Here is Chapter 14**

Jake stared down at the princess, who Lady had turned back to her original color. She still had her same features, but her body seemed melted and mixed up. Princess Bubblegum reduced to a blob of sticky goo. Ice King was busy trying to pick her up, but what remained of her would spill through his arms. The candy citizens wouldn't be happy that their ruler had died and left them to fend for themselves.

"I come home and find the kingdom on fire and you're just sitting in your lab. Princess I-" Jake, Lady, and Ice King turned to face Peppermint Butler, who had just walked into the room. His mouth was agape and his arms fell to his sides. The strangest part, though, was that Peppermint Butler's suit was ripped in several locations and there was blood on his arms and mouth. What happened to him?

"Princess!" the candy man yelled as he ran to her side. Jake noticed that Peppermint Butler had two golden knives strapped to his back, both bloodied and dented. This caused Jake to question more. _Who _is_ Peppermint Butler? Come to think of it, I don't know anything about the guy. He's kinda creepy_. As the faithful butler examined the presumably dead princess, he took mental notes. Nobody in the room could understand Peppermint Butler's ways, but they just assumed that he knew the princess better than anyone else.

"Someone," commanded the minty servant, "Get me a wheel barrel. The princess's life depends on it!" Lady turned around and started scanning the lab. The Rainicorn soon spotted a wheel barrel laying on the far side of the room. Lady flew over a couple of counters and grabbed the rolling container and brought it to Peppermint Butler.

"We're going to need to put the princess in here, so we can wheel her out." As the minty servant picked up a giant-sized dust pan, the others gave him a confused look.

"Waddya mean 'wheel her out'? Where would we bring her?" Ice King spoke up. Although he said it, Jake and Lady Rainicorn were thinking the same thing.

"No time. Help me scoop up her remains!" So the four of them got to work. After what seemed like hours, all of Bubblegum's bubblegum was in the wheel barrel. Suddenly, the group heard a loud crash from outside the palace. Everybody stopped and listened for anything more. In their confusion, the wheel barrel fell and the bubblegum began to spill out.

FINN'S POV

Carrying both of his swords, Finn charged Forsezan. Marceline followed close behind, and Jake following behind her. Forsezan himself pulled out a short, golden sword that created sparks wherever he swung. Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum was still held aloft in his other arm, but she was kicking and screaming the whole time.

Finn, holding the Never Blade, swung first. Although his Demon Blood Sword was blocked, the Never Blade had an open target. The slicing of flesh was heard as Finn's shining sword cut through The Lich's disguise. Finn back-flipped away, letting his friends attack. Princess Bubblegum, who was amazingly still in Forsezan's grip, desperately attempted to zip open her purse. She shakily rummaged through her purse with much difficulty, but she eventually found what she was looking for.

Forsezan swung his sparking blade at Marceline, Jake was dropping from the ceiling with his fists raised. Finn ran in to join the fray. With every blow, Forsezan's body began to twist and form into The Lich. Princess Bubblegum pulled out her ball blam burglerber and aimed straight for her captor. Forsezan screamed as he was blasted full force with protons.

The smoke cleared. Princess Bubblegum looked at Forsezan. Now, his entire lower body and face were of The Lich. His torso had miraculously survived and remained untouched. _Wait! He's protecting his torso so that he can be stabbed through the heart with the Never Blade!_

Time worked differently in Finn's dream than in Ooo. When Finn started his dream where he turned left instead of right, it was four months after the battle. The dream only lasted a couple of hours in Finn's mind, but by the time he ran to battle Forsezan and rescue PB, it was five months after the battle. The time that he would wake up. The dream faded into obscurity as Finn's eyes slowly opened.

He was met with a pleasant sight: Marceline. He was happy that he was awake and could actively do _something_, but he was disappointed because he would never know how his battle would go down until the day arrived. Finn felt his strength returning, minute by minute. His attention turned to a light flashing out of the window. He squinted his eyes and tried to make out what he was seeing.

"We need to go, like right NOW!" The hero dove out of his hospital bed and pulled Marceline with him. Behind him, an explosion rocked that caused him and the vampire queen to fly forward. Finn landed on his back as he felt rubble fall onto him. His eyes opened again, notifying him that he was, in fact, covered in rubble.

His internal map told him that he was facing up, the human started digging. He finally emerged to find himself surrounded. To his left were three hooded figures, each holding a different gem of royalty. To his right, were three different people, all hooded and holding gems of royalty. He scanned the area around him, which was also completely covered in rubble, for Marceline. She was nowhere to be found.

With no weapon to defend himself, Finn decided to think up a plan. There were twelve assassins around, and there was one of him, and possibly one vampire queen. He suddenly had an idea pop in his head.

"THEY BROKE A ROYAL PROMISE!" Suddenly, a great rumble erupted from outside. Visible through the massive hole in the wall left by the assassins, stood the lone Gumball Guardian. The assassins quickly turned their attention to the massive candy dispenser who stared menacingly at them.

"Which one of you broke the Royal Promise?" The guardian asked suspiciously.

"None of them!" yelled Finn, "They are here to kill the princess!" Immediately, the guardian's eyes turned red and aimed at the group of assassins. They all darted around, scattering in different directions. Finn used this opportunity to search his current location for a weapon that he could use. _Not a broom…not a chair…a metal pole!_

Grabbing his new weapon, Finn began to dig around to find Marceline. He cast rubble to his side using his pole to reach further into the ruins. He began to lose hope when someone tapped his shoulder.

"Did ya miss me, hero?" Finn turned quickly to find Marceline floating casually, her axe-bass in hand. Finn hugged his friend.

"I thought you were dead! Why couldn't I find you in the rubble?"

"I turned myself invisible and started looking for you before you popped yourself out. I've been hunting those assassins ever since." The two found themselves wandering the halls of the hospital, searching for the runaway assassins. Even with Marceline's heightened senses, they were still undetectable. It was as if they just left.

Then, the vampire queen smelled something strong. "Hold on tight, Finn! I'm going to fly us there _really_ quickly!" Finn wrapped his arms around Marceline's waist. She took off sooner than he expected, causing Finn to lose his balance and fall to her foot. He was holding on by a thread. Wherever they were going, it wasn't in the hospital, because Marceline was now flying over the entire Candy Kingdom. Finn gulped, tightening his grip on her foot.

SPIRIT FP'S POV (I think that works better than Fp's Spirit's POV)

Although she was a spirit, she could smell it too. It was very, very sweet and it emanated from the Candy Palace. As she wandered through the burning streets, FP couldn't help but notice that it reminded her of the Goblin Kingdom when she attacked it in her rage. Citizens were screaming and running, buildings were melting and falling over, and the Banana Guards were busy fighting said fires and rescuing the citizens. It was pandemonium.

FP made her way to the palace. The smell grew stronger as she wandered its great halls. Many candy people were taking refuge in the Main Hall. _Oh my Glob, is that Cinnamon Bun? THIS IS WHERE HE TOOK HIS VACATION!? THAT TREACHOROUS SON OF A BLEEPBLOOP! _FP felt her flames heat up as the anger welled up inside of her. She walked over to him and beat him up. Her punches had no effect, because she was a ghost, but it did help to quell her rage. It was made even more satisfying because her punches hit him like he was there, but he couldn't feel them.

Flame Princess felt the wind around her quicken. She turned around and saw Marceline zooming across her eyesight. The dead princess's eyes widened when she saw Finn, her ex-boyfriend, holding on for dear life. FP flew herself up to the hero and flew alongside him. _He's awake! The Lich is no longer infesting his brain!_ She made her way to Finn's body, and held on herself. Finn made no reaction to her presence, but FP felt her heart beat faster than before. She was happy.

PEPPERMINT BUTLER'S POV

The four of them wheeled the wheel barrel (go figure) down several flights of stairs. Past the room where Candy people are made, past the Torture rooms, and past the room that contained copies of all of Ooo's books, besides the Enchiridion. Finally, they reached the bottom floor. As the group entered the large set of double doors, they were amazed at what they saw.

Filling up half of the large room was a large machine with a see-through pod at the front. The machine itself was dark blue, and hummed with electricity. There was a computer monitor hooked up to the clear pod with strings of data constantly flashing. On top of the machine was the Spoon of Prosperity, neatly encased in a glass container.

"This," explained Peppermint Butler, "Is the life machine. Every time Princess Bubblegum dies, we put her in here in order to revive her. It also restores her youth when she grows old. The princess has lived for about 850 years, so this machine has seen a lot of use."

Peppermint Butler took the wheel barrel and poured PB into the clear capsule. When the glass door slid shut, the minty servant used a stepstool to reach the computer monitor. He typed in a complicated command, and the machine started to shake violently.

After five solid minutes of thrashing around, the life machine finally calmed down. The capsule opened, and out walked Princess Bubblegum, as good as new.

"Guten tag!" greeted the princess. She turned to face her servant, "I thought you were playing Poker with Death. How did you get here?"

"Milady," calmly responded Peppermint Butler, "I was out performing a 'task' for the Old Gardener, and I was on my way back from the mission to bring Death proof of the operation when I noticed that the Candy Kingdom was on fire." Although he sounded pleased, Peppermint Butler didn't like to talk back to the princess unless she absolutely deserved it.

With that, the minty servant turned to the wall and started chanting. When he finished, runes appeared on the wall, opening a portal.

"Peppermint Butler," questioned Jake, "Where does that portal lead to?"

"The Dead world, obviously."

"But when we retrieved the soul of PB's plant, you had us stare at the corner of the room or some junk." With that, Princess Bubblegum stared menacingly at Jake. She had obviously never been told that her plant had died while in the care of Finn and Jake.

"This version of that portal casts a spell on me where the souls of the dead shy away from me. When you went through your portal, the dead were free to attack you. I wanted to test the both of you. And you passed."

As Peppermint Butler left the room, he could hear someone enter the room, along with a ghostly presence. He shrug it off and continued to traverse the landscape leading to Death's Castle.

**What an intense chapter! I wrote that part about the two portals because I saw 'Death in Bloom' the other day and I realized that I had the wrong version of the portal. Whoops! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Comment if you have any thoughts, criticisms, or compliments. I hope you have an excellent day!**

**-da br0909**


	15. No Rest For the Wicked

***AN* IMPORTANT NOTE: THE LAPTOP THAT I USE TO WRITE THESE CHAPTERS WAS MOMENTARILY REFRESHED AND REVERTED FROM WINDOWS 8.1 BACK INTO WINDOWS 8.0. ALTHOUGH I WAS ABLE TO GET MOST OF MY FILES BACK AND COPY-AND-PASTE THIS STORY IN MICROSOFT WORD, MY LAPTOP IS STILL RUNNING AT WINDOWS 8.0. THIS WILL MOST LIKELY ****_NOT_**** AFFECT THIS STORY. I'M ONLY SAYING THIS IN CASE SOMETHING GOES WRONG.**

** Chapter 15. This calls for celebration! I'm passing 25,000 words this chapter. Also, this story (as of right now) has the same number of reviews as it does chapters! Thanks to B1BL10PH1L3, DJMidge, The Nephilim King Michael, HoneyBadgerGal, and kojh0124 for leaving me such nice reviews! Also, I saw the episode 'Betty', and it was awesome. Wait, I just realized. I passed 25,000 words in ****_this_**** author's note! Again, thanks to all who have read to this point in the story. You guys are all awesome!**

** Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. Aside from the Original Characters and the plot, nothing portrayed in this fan fiction belongs to me. Regardless, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Leave a review if you want to compliment me, criticize me, or comment in general. Let me know what you guys want and don't want in this story, so I can make it more enjoyable for everyone. Every criticism helps! Anyway…enjoy, review, and do what you will. Here is chapter 15…**

Jake smelled a familiar smell, and was swept with nostalgia. It wasn't the life machine, as it wasn't a particularly sweet smell, but it was a welcome sensation to his nose. Peppermint Butler walked into his portal. As he left, Jake felt the whooshing of air before he saw what had caused it.

Finn, who had dropped down from Marceline at this point, stood in hospital garments. In the Candy Kingdom, these clothes were made of stale taffy that was soft enough to be clothes, but hard enough that it wouldn't stick or smell. Finn's hat was absent from his head, having been left at the Tree House some months ago, revealing his shoulder-length blond hair. He looked very well rested, but was also slightly on edge. Jake didn't take the time to process this, however, and just tackled his brother to the ground in a hug.

"FIIIIIIIIIIIN!"yelled Jake, as he wrapped his elongated arms around his brother. Soon, everyone was in on a large group hug celebrating Finn's return. The magical dog himself had wrapped his arms several times around the hero and was probably squeezing too tight. Eventually, the group hug ended and turned into a story exchange. Finn shared his dreams and constant battle with The Lich, Princess Bubblegum about her science experiments and new inventions, Jake and Lady about life in general after the battle with The Lich, Marceline of her quest to retrieve the three items that would eventually wake Finn up, and the Ice King on how hard it was to write fan fiction when the character that it was based off of was confined to a hospital bed.

For hours, everyone just enjoyed each other's company. Unfortunately, time and circumstances were not their friends. It wasn't too long until the events of the past day truly caught their attention. The group of six eventually made their way to the ground floor and were about to go home after a long ordeal. That was when a note came in the window. It was, as Finn put it, 'the worst envelope ever'.

It was simple enough. The sealed document hit Jake in the head as he stood up to leave. As he slit open the note, he unceremoniously shrieked. The others instantly joined his side and read the note for themselves. The note itself was from BMO, and it completely ruined their day.

BMO'S POV (For the purposes of this story, BMO is genderless. He may be referred to as 'he' or 'she' and both would be correct. 'It' also works. This also applies with Air a.k.a. Bubble, although I will primarily call Air either 'he' or 'it'. Just wanted to clear up any confusion.)

BMO nervously waited by the windowsill for any news. The night before, Air (previously called 'Bubble') had left because he had heard very interesting news from around Ooo. It was several hours later, and the small video game system was alone. She passed the time by teaching Football how to take a bath. Football was really stubborn, and BMO almost fried his circuits by the time Air returned.

"BMO," called Air, its soothing voice called throughout the Tree House, "I'm back! You might want to hear this!" BMO got out of the bathtub, dried herself off, and went to go meet Air.

"Hello Air!" called BMO, "What news did you get?"

"BMO!" responded Air, slight annoyance in its tone, "What did you _do_ to yourself?"

"I was trying to teach Football how to bathe like a real boy!" cheerfully responded the electronic device.

"You know that you can't go in water! You're a machine! You could've shocked yourself, and Football!" Air liked to pretend that Football was a real person, if only to please BMO.

"I'm sorry, Air. It's just, Football was really stinky."

"Don't look down, BMO. I wasn't trying to make you feel sad. I just want to keep you safe."

"Thank you, Air. Now, what was the news you were trying to tell me?"

"Oh, right. That. So, apparently, all of Ooo's princesses were killed by assassins and stripped of their gems! Except for Bubblegum. She's fine."

"Oh my goodness! I need to tell Jake!" With that, he found a piece of paper and wrote his note his urgent news. Sealing it in a spare envelope, he licked it (not really. I mean, his screen showed a tongue, so that's something I guess) and closed the lid.

"Air!" frantically called the video game system, "Bring this to Jake! He's with Lady Rainicorn!" With that, BMO felt a gust rush past him, signaling that Air had left. Although Air headed for Lady Rainicorn's house, he heard the citizens murmur that he was in the Candy Palace. He threw the urgent message into the window, and promptly returned to the Tree House. It had had enough travelling for the day.

FINN'S POV

The young hero, although slowly and inaccurately, read over Jake's shoulder. The news sent a shiver down Finn's spine, as he learned that the princesses that he had worked so hard to save over the years were gone. The human tightened his fists as his lips turned to a frown. He could hardly contain his anger, his only restraint being his strict moral code.

Finn noted his friends' expression. Jake was still shocked and was frozen stiff. Ice King looked disappointed, making the hero angrier than he already was. Lady had her arms up to her face in surprise, her wide mouth left agape. Princess Bubblegum's expression barely changed. She was a cold and calculating princess, at least most of the time, and didn't seem too shocked.

Marceline just looked sunken and defeated. After all, she had lived for a thousand years and was just experiencing yet another sorrowful defeat. Collectively, one could feel the tension in the air. When they all finished, everybody had to wait for Finn to finish reading, there really was nothing to say. It was Finn who broke the silence, three long minutes after it started.

"PB, I think you're going to need a bodyguard."

Jake spoke next, "I wonder if that Orange guy had anything to do with this."

"What if it was The Lich's disciples?" question Marceline, "I mean, Green spoke as if he was part of a large group. What if it was them?" They all murmured in agreement.

"What would we do in the time being?" This time, it was PB who talked, "What _can_ we do? We don't know where they are, we don't know how many of them there are, and we don't know when they're coming back."

"I think I have a plan," announced the vampire queen, "I still have the Never Blade at my cave-home. We might be able to lure them out somehow."

"Mathematical!" yelled Finn. Clearly, he thought that it was a great plan, "We would ambush them, and show 'em who's boss!" The hero's enthusiasm raised everyone's spirits, something they sorely needed after reading BMO's note.

A CAVE IN THE BADLANDS OF OOO

Orange found himself sitting on the corner of his bed. His home was located out in the badlands, lost in a cave system with the rest of his colleagues. He sighed, knowing that he was the only assassin to actually _fail_ at assassinating. He angrily threw his fist at the adjacent wall. The stone around the dent cracked slightly. Orange yelled in pain. His fist was oozing with magma blood, and was probably broken from the impact.

"Mother of glob!" the fire elemental grimaced as he leaned his head back against the other wall. His eyes wandered to the ceiling, where his real name was written. A constant reminder of who he was and what he could've been.

_Blaze._ Such a simple name sent his mind wandering for hours. 'The Next Great Hero' he was called. 'A tempest of fiery justice'. He rubbed his eyes. _When did it go so wrong?_ Although the question was meant to be rhetorical, the answer was implanted in his subconscious.

DOZENS OF YEARS AGO…

Blaze ran across the rooftops of the Fire Kingdom as fast as he could. The thief he was pursuing continued to change direction unevenly, keeping the vigilante on his toes. Not that Blaze needed to pay attention to where his adversary was turning, his instincts did that for him. Instincts of pain and rage. Instincts of pure, unadulterated, absolute vehemence.

He left behind the body of his best friend when he chased the thief across the Fire Kingdom. Blaze suddenly dashed forward, noticing that his enemy had stumbled slightly. He was on his position momentarily, but realized that the thief must've fallen between the buildings that they had been running atop of. He jumped down, only to be met with a nasty surprise.

The thief had purposely fallen down into the alley to gain an advantage on his pursuer. This was evident, as Blaze was instantly squirted with cold water before he even hit the ground. He yelled in pain, his eyes steaming and evaporated. He rolled along the ground, holding his eyes to his now almost nonexistent face, he cried for help. When help finally came, it wasn't the help he was expecting.

He could hear shushed voices, but only slightly, as his ears barely survived the onslaught of water that it had been subject to minutes ago.

"…he wouldn't join us. He fights for good…"

"…he used rage to fight, rather than virtue…"

"…we could always leech him…"

"…hm. Okay, we'll take him in…"

The voices immediately silenced as he felt eyes fall over to him. He soon many gloved hands poking and shaking him, seeing if he was still conscious.

"Are you still alive? If you are, make a response of some sort." This voice was undeniably female. It was sweet, yet decisive, and carried authority. He responded by slowly shaking his arm across the ground.

"Okay guys, he's alive." Blaze heard murmurs of agreement at this statement. The female voice spoke again.

"Hello, Blaze. My colleagues and I are going to take you with us. We might know a way to heal you. If you agree, shake your hand. If you disagree, shake your foot." The wounded vigilante shook his right hand slowly. Unbeknownst to Blaze, the very people who took him in were the Brotherhood of The Lich.

Over the next couple of days, just as they promised, Blaze's face slowly regenerated. After a week, his speech and eyesight had fully returned. The same day, they gave him a green drink they called 'Leech Wine' and forced him to drink it.

Leech Wine, in actuality, was extract of the Wells of Power, located in The Lich's hideout. When consumed by a mortal, they were given a massive strength and power boost, but also became addicted to the power. Blaze, who was naturally good natured and virtuous, was no exception. He became addicted to his power, and that was the sole reason he had stuck with the Brotherhood for this long.

PRESENT DAY…

Orange still regretted accepting the Brotherhood's offer. Even if it meant death, he would've preferred to die a hero than live a villain (**Dark Knight reference!**). His own addiction caused him to break every rule he had given himself as a hero. Orange sighed once again, holding his damaged hand. He was thirsty. Surely Leech Wine would heal such a minor injury as this one…

** *AN* Wow! I even surprised myself with the backstory I had given Orange. I reread this story and saw that the Brotherhood members didn't really have a personality, so I'll be working on that from now on. Also, Finn's back and everyone (in the Candy Kingdom) knows it!**

** If you want to compliment me, criticize me, or comment in general, don't forget to review this story! I hope you all have an excellent day!**

**-da br0909**


	16. The caves of depression

***AN* Chapter 16. Hey everybody! I just passed 1,500 views on this story! Thanks to all of you who have read to this point. Especially those of you who review. Thanks to B1BL10PH1L3 and DJMidge for leaving me such great reviews! Also, thanks to B1BL10PH1L3, DJMidge, The Nephilim King Michael, and kojh0124 for following this story. It really means a lot to me.**

** Who else to thank? ... The Academy I guess. Oh! And all of the little people! Thanks to the Academy and all of the little people! I now feel like a movie star. I would also like to thank the little bird I saw fly across my background, simply for existing.**

** Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. Aside from the Original Characters and the plot, nothing in this fan fiction belongs to me. Leave a review if you would like to criticize, compliment, or comment in general. (If you're feeling extra nice, why not drop a follow and/or a favorite? You'd get a shout out…) Regardless, enjoy, review, and do what you will. Here is the sixteenth installment in Wrath of The Lich.**

**P.P.S. I know that 'The Lich' is actually spelled 'the Lich', I'm just to lazy to go back and change every single mention of him. Just live with it…I hope that didn't sound harsh.**

She thought it was a stupid plan. She honestly didn't believe that the Brotherhood of The Lich would buy that the Never Blade was being sold at an auction, especially after the information Forsezan told Marceline. Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum also that it was too risky. What _if_ the Brotherhood got ahold of the sword? All they would need to do is find The Lich, give him a host, and they would win.

The princess mentally smacked her brain. She didn't really believe that the Never Blade would actually do all of those things, right? There wasn't a magical way the blade would just _give_ The Lich omnipotence, right? There had to be a scientific reason for all of it, she just hadn't discovered it yet. Bonnibel, regardless, though that the best solution was to keep the Brotherhood away from the sword in case it did have magical abilities.

PB donned her skintight battle suit, which she could wear underneath her regular clothes. It had small samples of her deadly serums and concoctions, as well as being resistant to most elemental attacks. Putting on her royal gown over her battle suit, the princess walked back to join her friends. Finn was wearing his standard outfit: baby blue t-shirt, darker blue shorts, and his green-lined pack. His bear hat was back on the hero's head, neatly covering Finn's shoulder-length blond hair. His father's Demon Blood Sword was strapped across his back

Jake and Lady Rainicorn stood behind him, both wearing auctioneer outfits. Marceline was nowhere to be found, but she was probably invisible and/or scaring random citizens. _As if they needed to be even more scared_. Ice King was gone, probably attending to his penguins.

"Alright everybody," Bonnibel ended the silence, "It's show time! Get in places!" The group dispersed, leaving the  
princess alone. Or so she thought.

"What's the matter Bonnie?" asked Marceline, who had appeared right behind the startled princess, "You seem down. Was it something I said?" By this point, PB had turned around to face the vampire queen. She was wearing her regular gray tank top with blue pants and red boots. The Never Blade was strapped across her back, her axe-bass in hand.

"There's nothing wrong with me, Marceline. I'm fine."

"Really? When was the last time you slept?"

"Last night. Why?"

"Well, I guess you can't blame it on sleep deprivation."

"Blame what on sleep deprivation? I'm perfectly fine! CAN'T YOU TELL?"

The vampire queen laughed, "I guess it's worse than I thought."

Calming herself down, Bonnibel replied, "Marceline, I'm perfectly fine. I couldn't be better."

"You seem depressed. What's wrong? You don't have to lie to me. I'm your friend."

The princess sighed, "Fine. But you can't tell the others."

"Of course, Bonnibel. That's what friends are for."

"It's just, I don't think that this plan will work. It's really stupid. I know that you, Finn, and Jake are so excited about this, but it would never work. There are too many variables that this operation faces that it questionable whether or not the Brotherhood will actually show up!" The princess huffed out a large breath and sat herself down.

Marceline followed suit, wrapping her arm around her friend, "If it does work, then we'll have a better chance of finding The Lich and stopping him. If we quit now, we'll never beat him. Do you want to let him take Ooo? If you'd like to make a stand, then join us and let's make one hell of an auction."

Bonnibel stood up and followed the vampire queen out into the hall. As they walked, the princess could've sworn that she'd seen a shadow moving in the opposite direction.

A CAVE IN THE BADLANDS, THE PREVIOUS DAY

Olivia placed her hand on the red-tinted rock face. She closed her eyes and chanted, "_For those who want to live again, for those who see this world end. For those who want the sun to die, for those who live for people's cry. For those who want his reign to start, then plunge the sword into his heart. All hail The Lich King!"_ Immediately, the rocks receded, revealing a large hallway.

She walked into the dark passageway as the entrance closed behind her. As she made her way down the cavern, she gripped the royal gem in her hand. This gem had come from Lumpy Space Princess, who she easily dispatched in her sleep. Olivia sensed a presence nearing, so she faded herself into the wall.

It was an odd sensation, feeling yourself reduced to the second dimension. Olivia often said it felt like being flattened, but painlessly. It never hurt her to fade into a flat surface, but it sent goose bumps all around her body. It was emptier in the wall, if that makes sense. It made sense to her, but to nobody else.

The wall around her suddenly got warmer and brighter. Soon, the figure of Blaze, her friend, stood confused. He looked around until his eyes fell unto her. She stepped out of her hiding spot and greeted her friend.

"Orange," she called, "Why are you here early? The Candy Kingdom is pretty far from here."

Orange stepped back, looking depressed. This wasn't unusual, he was always depressed, "I failed my mission." It was as simple as that, but Olivia understood. Not one Brother or Sister has failed a mission and went unpunished.

"It's okay, Blaze. The council rarely gives off death as punishment." She smiled her most optimistic smile, but it was obviously forced.

"That's easy for you to say, Blue. You've never even _messed up_ in a mission, let alone fail one."

"Now is not the time to compare yourself to me. What _we _need to do is to put you on a redemption mission before the council returns." Olivia smiled again, backing away from the fire elemental, "And I think I have the perfect one for you…"

PRESENT DAY, AT THE CANDY KINGDOM

"Pssst, Orange," quietly whispered the shadowy assassin, "I have some information. It's critical for our job!" The fire elemental casually made his way to his friend's shadow. Both of them were in a secluded hallway, outside of the main hall.

"What is it, Blue? Did they say anything important?"

Olivia replied, "It's a setup. They are auctioning the Never Blade in order to lure us out. I'm assuming that they need information."

"We need to tell Red. He's surveying the auction right now!" Blue dashed off down the hall, with Blaze close behind. When Olivia's shadow stopped, so did the fire elemental. Right in front of the pair of assassins was a small, rounded man. He was a peppermint.

"Hello, you two. I've been looking for you since the party started. You're better hiders than I thought!" The minty man in a blue suit pulled out two golden knives from his back and he stabbed the wall, forcing Olivia to pop out.

"Whoever you are, stay out of our way!" Orange was yelling. Obviously, the peppermint knew what he was doing. With that, Orange charged, his fists blazing.

MARCELINE'S POV

The vampire queen invisibly floated around the main hall, looking for any suspicious characters. Her vampire senses didn't detect anything abnormal _at first_. It was during the main bidding that she noticed a flicker of light gleam from a chandelier.

Marceline floated over to the light fixture and saw a figure with highly advanced Active Camouflage. The only way she could even _see _the observer was with through her demonic eyes. There, a crouched figure had his attention turned to the Never Blade on display. The vampire queen suddenly had a _great _idea.

She grabbed the observer's throat and squeezed. He resisted, lunging himself backwards. This maneuver sent both of them to fall off the edge. As they landed, the Active Camouflage wore off. This revealed a figure with green skin and completely white hair. He had demonic red eyes that bore into her nonexistent soul.

Dozens of candy people fled as the two beings engaged in battle. At this point, Finn and Jake entered the scene. Finn raised his Demon Blood Sword and lunged at the green skinned demon while Jake enlarged himself and attempted to stomp on the assassin. Marceline grabbed her axe-bass and flew into the fray. Out of her periphery, she saw Bonnie press a button that sealed the Never Blade away.

SPIRIT FP'S POV

She watched as the figure crept up behind Princess Bubblegum. The assassin had his right hand out, which was producing a faint, grey smoke that was slowly enveloping him. Finally, the figure reached his target.

Time seemed to slow as the assassin reached out his hand for PB's tiara. However, the assassin was moving at a normal pace. Flame Princess realized that they grey smoke had filled the entire room _except_ for the figure. The ghosted princess realized that the smoke must've slowed time itself.

The dead fire elemental pursued the thief. He aimlessly ran through the halls of the palace. It was hard to keep pace, but the princess eventually found him again. He stopped running, and appeared to wait. FP was confused. Why would a thief who had just stolen a royal gem wait for anything?

The answer came straight to her head. _He isn't alone._

**Sorry it took so long to update! I've had school to do and Writer's Block to deal with. It's strange how Writer's Block works even when I have this part of the story planned out. Anyway…How did you like it? Will Peppermint Butler stop Orange and Blue before they escape? Will Finn, Jake, and Marceline stop Red from stealing the Never Blade? (The last question shouldn't be a surprise if you remember back all the way to Chapter 10.) **

** I hope you enjoyed it. If you want to compliment me, criticize me, or just want to comment in general, leave a review. If you're feeling extra generous, why not follow/favorite this story? Thanks for reading. I hope you have an excellent day!**

**-da br0909**


	17. Auction of the soul

***AN* Chapter 17 is here. I'm back! Again, I'd like to thank everyone who has read to this point. I'd also like to thank those of you who bother to review (Rhymes at all Times). Thanks to B1BL10PH1L3, DJMidge, and kojh0124 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome and inspire me to make this story better!**

** Anyway…Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. Aside from the Original Characters and the plot, I own nothing portrayed in this fan fiction. If you want to criticize me, compliment me, or just comment in general, leave a review. If you're feeling extra generous, why not follow/favorite this story? Regardless, enjoy, review and do what you will. I hope you enjoy chapter 17.**

Peppermint Butler slid under the strike that his opponent had swung. He turned himself on the ground, stabbing his golden knife into his leg. The fire elemental cried out in pain as he dropped to his knees. The minty servant stood back up to face his other enemy.

The other assassin was a female. She was shorter than the fire elemental, but not by much. Her dark brown hair fell to her back and her eyes were black and expressionless. She quickly pulled out a gauntlet from her pack. Before she had the opportunity to place it on her hand, Peppermint Butler threw himself at her face.

The minty servant swung his knives at the back of her head, but her hair had a mind of its own. It caught the wrist of the Peppermint man and swung him across the room. As he landed, he saw in his periphery that the two assassins were getting away. He wasn't about to let that happen.

He stabbed the golden knife in his left hand onto the floor, sending out a golden beam of energy. The demonic butler pushed himself off of the ground and pursued his opponents. He found them wrapped in the golden energy sent out from his magical dagger. The two were trapped.

That was, until the fire elemental turned his flames from a strong, yellow-white to an unholy green. His green flames ate away at his restraints until he freed himself. Peppermint Butler backed away cautiously. With a flick of his wrist, the knife in the butler's right hand began to spark. He slashed it through the air, creating an arc of electrical energy.

The fiery assassin jumped to his left, only to have the lightning follow his path. He turned to run, but the lightning whip caught him. It wrapped around his body like a Boa Constrictor. He screamed in pain as the electricity continued to shock him. Soon enough, the assassin fell to the floor.

Peppermint Butler walked over to his unconscious enemy. His flames were burning at a cold red and his breathing was irregular. _Death will be happy to add this to his collection_. Unfortunately, during his battle with Blaze, the minty servant completely forgot about the other assassin. He felt a sharp pain erupt through his body. Looking down, he saw that he had been punctured with a sharp needle that was now covered in his sugary blood.

He dropped his knives to the ground. He raised his hands to his head, and the demonic butler began to chant.

"_Mortalis anti potentia Maloso gordonis!"_ Peppermint Butler's hands began to glow. Closing his eyes, the minty servant felt a well of power rush to his temples. He reopened his eyes to find himself a couple of feet behind the second assassin. His wound had completely healed and his knives were back into his hands.

This power was given to him by Death. With it, Peppermint Butler could teleport himself away from danger and completely heal himself. Unfortunately, Peppermint Butler could use it only once. He charged his attacker once more, this time being more mindful of her hair. She turned around with her gauntlet on her left hand, which had a bloody spike protruding from its side.

The minty servant barely had time to hurdle the spike which had been swung at him. Peppermint Butler then lunged himself at the girls legs, which he swung at violently. Her sentient hair stretched down to block the strike, but ended up being cut in the process. The shadowy assassin fell to the ground as Peppermint Butler rolled out from under her.

The girl lay with her back on the ground. The demonic butler walked himself around to her head, raising his blade to finish the job. Instantaneously, the assassin faded herself into the ground. Peppermint Butler didn't react fast enough and found himself swinging at the ground.

He landed on his flat body. The minty servant felt a cold hand grabbing his ankle. Before he could spin to knock off the grabber, he felt himself being pulled. Oddly enough, Peppermint Butler was pulled _into_ the ground. He looked around his new environment and saw the silhouette of his enemy. He tried to run, but realized that he wasn't standing on a flat surface and began to spin rapidly.

He soon stopped himself, but he noticed that the silhouette was much closer now. Peppermint Butler made swimming motions with his arms, which propelled him closer. Suddenly, the demonic butler had a better idea. He swung his golden blade above him. It latched onto a ceiling of sorts, which caused Peppermint Butler to hang from his hilt. He sent a shockwave of energy through his knife, and he found himself and the assassin back on solid ground.

The demonic butler reoriented himself quickly and sprinted to his disoriented foe. _Wait. I shouldn't kill her. The princess could need her for interrogation_. Instead of stabbing his knife into the girl's head, he sung the handle of his dagger into her forehead, knocking her out.

He turned around to face the incapacitated fire elemental. To his shock, the fiery assassin was gone. The only trace that he had been there was a couple of green embers flickering on the floor. _Where could he have gone? The lightning whip had the power to knock a fire elemental unconscious for days! It must've had something to do with the green flames that he produced_.

Peppermint Butler summoned a rope with his demonic powers. He was able to conjure simple things like ropes, bandages, and food fairly easily. He tied up his unconscious foe and dragged her to the interrogation room. It wasn't the room beneath the Candy Dungeon, as that one proved to be ineffective. He dragged the girl to his _personal_ interrogation room.

The room canceled all magic, nourished the prisoner so they wouldn't die or get hungry, and had a collection of torture devices that would give medieval knights a scare. He locked the female assassin in his torture capsule as he went to retrieve the princess.

"Sleep tight, Shadow Mongerer…"

IN THE CANDY PALACE HALL

Finn raised his Demon Blood Sword and swung at the assassin. His green-skinned opponent jumped over his strike and caught himself on the wall. Marceline flew to his position, her ace-bass cocked back. The assassin, again, barely dodged her strike. This time, however, he jumped in the direction of Finn.

The crimson red blade sliced through the demon's flesh. The Demon Blood sword had managed to cut through the assailant's right arm and sever it clean off. The assassin writhed in pain as Jake wrapped his elongated arms around the assassin. The magical dog continued to squeeze the demon as Finn and Marceline walked over to him.

Finn looked around, noticing that all of the candy citizens had left. Even Princess Bubblegum had gone somewhere. Lady Rainicorn still watched from her auctioneer podium, protecting the Never Blade. Finally, the demonic assassin went limp.

Jake released the assassin, letting him fall to the ground. Finn watched as Marceline went to examine the assassin's body. Finn joined her and inspected the demon's clothing. It was the same style as the assassins who showed up at the hospital. The incapacitated demon also had a tattered hood that partially covered his face.

"Finn," called the vampire queen, "Look at this." The hero obeyed and crawled to where Marceline was pointing. On his arm was the word Red written in green ink. It covered his entire forearm and it gave off an ominous feeling.

"Do you think that that's his name?" asked the adventurer. Finn pulled back the sleeve on his other arm, revealing another word. _Fredrick._ This, again, was spelled with green ink and spanned across the assassin's forearm.

"I think they both are." Replied the vampire queen. Marceline widened her eyes until they looked cat-like and green, like her father's. Demon eyes. She examined the assassin carefully, searching for any more clues. Finn watched her work, oblivious to the green fog rolling out of Red's eyes.

Suddenly, the assassin lunged himself at Marceline. He looked feral, his eyes an evil green. Although the vampire queen was strong, the sudden burst of strength that Red received was strong enough to pin her down.

Without hesitation, Finn charged at the newly awoken assassin, his Demon Blood Sword raised. The hero swung savagely at the demon, but Red paid no attention. Jake got up and jumped onto Fredrick's back, but was instantly thrown off.

Marceline tried her best to shape-shift into a stronger form, but the green gas emanating from the demon was subduing her powers. Finn saw this struggle, and proceeded to continuously stab the assassin mercilessly.

Jake watched in horror as his brother slashed at Red. The magical dog slowly backed away in fear. Finn's eyes were bloodshot and he was attacking the demon like a wild beast. Finally, Jake saw Finn's Demon Blood Sword punctured Fredrick's back.

Red got off of Marceline to face his new attacker. Finn, who had just pulled out his crimson blade from the assassin's back, looked absolutely vehement. The hero didn't waste any time and lunged at the demon.

Red, who had just subdued the vampire queen moments ago, was losing a battle with a mortal. Not just any mortal, but a _human_ mortal. This confused Fredrick couldn't land a single blow against the enraged hero, while Finn was able to land _several_ on him. This added to the massive wound he had already received on his back, and the assassin was very quickly losing strength.

The assassin knew that if he continued this fight, he would surely lose. He used his one advantage over Finn, his speed, to dash at the sealed container that held the Never Blade. He extended his demon claws and slashed at the metal casing. His swipes left a small gash in the metal plating.

He reached in and grabbed the Never Blade, but his wrist was caught by Marceline, who had flown over to intercept the demon. He was promptly punched in the face and stumbled back, still holding the evil sword in his hand.

He quickly got his bearings, only to be kicked from behind. He stumbled forward and gathered himself, barely grabbing the kick Marceline sent his way. Red flung the vampire queen into the air and took off running. He had ran down dozens of hallways until he felt a sharp pain erupt from his side. He looked to examine his wound, and found that Finn the human was holding onto the assassin and stabbing his side.

As Red neared his rendezvous point, he attempted to shake off his stowaway. He would randomly crash into walls and make sharp turns, but the hero refused to let go. Finally, Fredrick stopped running and decided to face his opponent.

Wielding the Never Blade, the assassin charged the human. Finn easily blocked his strike and responded with a kick to his stomach. Red stumbled back, opening himself up for a flurry of strikes. The assassin was pounded by a long volley of slashes and stabs and he could only block so many. By the time Finn jumped back, the demon was covered in gashes and cuts.

"Orange!" called the beaten assassin, "Blue! Yellow! Anybody!" The hero opposite Red was breathing heavily from his massive onslaught. He slowly regained his energy and lunged forward.

This time, however, Finn was cut off by a massive wall of green flames. The hero jumped back, shielding himself from the embers. Red was joined by Orange, who was emanating green flames. Finn raised his crimson blade again, only to notice that he was moving in slow motion compared to his enemies.

Yellow, still holding Princess Bubblegum's tiara, promptly grabbed his two colleagues and ran. The thief was almost out of time powder and could only carry Red for so long. Fortunately for him, the three made it to a large window before their luck ran out. Red, Orange, and Yellow jumped out of the window to make their hasty getaway.

***AN* That was pretty intense. I just couldn't contain my excitement in this chapter. I really, really enjoy writing fight scenes. Anyway…Did you guys enjoy this chapter? Will Finn and the gang get the Never Blade back? Why do you think Finn randomly burst into his super-rage?**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review this story. Until next time, I hope all of you have a great day.**

**-da br0909**


	18. Aftermath

***AN* Chapter 18 has arrived! Thanks to B1BL10PH1L3, kojh0124, and DJMidge for reviewing last chapter and leaving me some nice criticism. For anyone who had questions about last chapter, some of them will be answered this chapter. Thanks to anyone who has read to this point, as you guys are awesome! Also, I think I have sort of a schedule now. I will post anywhere between 2-4 days after the last chapter was posted. I will tell you guys if I'm not going to post on schedule, if that ever happens. If you're wondering, anyone who reviews this story gets a shout-out!**

** Again, thanks to DJMidge, who gave me the explanation of Finn's rage outburst. I didn't use her idea entirely, but I did get inspiration from her review. Thank you DJMidge!**

** Posting this was a hassle! On my laptop, which I type on, the fan fiction website is having errors copying all of the words on this story when I copy-and-paste it into the document manager section. I had to email this to myself after days of frustration and post it on another computer. I hope it was worth the wait.**

** Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. Aside from the Original Characters and the plot, I own nothing portrayed in this fan fiction. If you want to criticize me, compliment me, or just comment in general, leave a review. If you're feeling extra generous, why not follow/favorite this story? Anyway…Enjoy, review, and do what you will. I hope you enjoy Chapter 18…**

Marceline flew down the extensive candy hallways, with Jake in tow. Finn had attached himself the fleeing demon with the superhuman strength that had graced him during their battle. It was startling to watch her best friend completely lose himself to rage and defeat an enemy she herself couldn't best. _What had caused this outburst?_

Her heightened senses could smell the human's familiar scent, but it was heavily masked by an unknown smell. She quickened her pace, eager to find the hero and to discern what was clouding her nose. The smell of human neared as she turned another corner, letting her know that she was almost upon him. She peered into the long corridor, seeing a peculiar sight.

Finn was fine, unharmed for the matter, but his opponent was nowhere to be found. Not to mention that he was swinging his Demon Blood Sword at an enemy who wasn't there in slow motion. As she and Jake rushed to his position, tiny, glass-like sparkles around him.

Jake approached first, careful not to step in the way of the slow sword strike. Marceline watched with curiosity as the magical dog inspected his temporally shifted brother. Finn seemed to be moving naturally, but his movements were severely slowed. Marceline soon followed the canine and approached the adventurer.

The vampire queen activated her demon eyes, scanning as thoroughly as she could. Her new vision highlighted a thin barrier around the human, presumably the shimmering observed earlier. Looking past that, Marceline noticed that Finn's eyes were overflowing with some sort of gas. The very same gas excreted by Red the assassin.

The curious queen placed her hand on Finn's shoulder, and his speed returned to normal. The hero fell to the ground, his strike's momentum carrying through his slowed state. Jake and Marceline knelt to down inspect their friend, who was breathing heavily at the floor. Finn slowly rose to his feet, holding his head with his hands. The vampire queen gazed at the hero's eyes, inspecting for the subtle difference pointed out by her demon vision. At the edge of his pupil, Marceline detected a small tint of green.

Moments later, Finn let out a violent cough. This sudden outburst made Marceline and Jake back away. In each of his coughs, a subtle green gas could be seen if you looked closely enough. As Finn let out the last of his coughs, a large cloud of the green gas erupted from his mouth. Jake and Marceline ran back to their friend, who was had fallen to the floor, unconscious.

SPIRIT FP'S POV

Flame Princess blazed through the sky in hot pursuit of the three assassins. Each of them wore similar garments to her own killer, Black. The dead princess immediately made the connection and chased the Brothers. It wasn't much of a chase, seeing as FP wasn't actually there. The extinguished fire elemental had no idea why she followed them. It wasn't like she could _do_ anything with the information.

After winding her way through Kingdom after Kingdom, Flame Princess finally found the secret base. She watched as the assassins separately placed their hands on a 0atch of red rock and chanted something. At first, FP was out of earshot, but she moved closer to the assassins.

It seemed unnecessary for each Brother to chant the phrase for themselves, especially since the rock face closed instantly behind the assassin as they entered. _These guys aren't kidding around with security, I guess._

Being a ghost, Flame Princess willed herself to pass through the rocks. She found herself in a dark, musty cavern that would've been too dark to see had she not been made of fire. Using her fire sense, she quickly located the three assassins that she had been tracking earlier.

As she made her way through the damp, musty tunnels, she passed several rooms. One room she passed had a TV on, playing a news clip on loop. She entered the room, revealing a projector showing a section of news from the Candy Kingdom. On the screen, Princess Bubblegum herself was speaking to an interviewer.

"What's so special about the sword that you're auctioning?" asked the reporter.

"It was left by an assassin who was apprehended before his mission could be carried out. He called it the Never Blade, and we're opening the auction to all of Ooo…"

The clip ended there, than restarted from the beginning of the interview. The fire elemental left the room and pursued the heat signatures she had highlighted with her heat sense. As she found the three assailants, she found herself in a medical bay of sorts. The injured demon was resting on a bed while the other two assassins were deep in conversation across the room.

"Do you have it with you?" asked the fire elemental, who had since let his green flames die down to a healthy yellow-white.

"Yeah, right here." Responded the other assassin. Of the three, he was the least humanoid. He was unnaturally thin, but looked remarkably strong. His outfit, although being similar to the others in some aspects, was much more vibrant and colorful. Random streaks of yellow, green, and pink covered his robes with a childish physique.

He pulled out Bubblegum's tiara, still shiny and spotless. His blue eyes gleamed with light and wonder as he stared deeply into the headpiece's magical gem.

"Why do we even need these gems?" asked the fire elemental.

"I'm not sure. The council didn't really offer an explanation, just something about 'prophetic dreams'." Orange seemed to accept this answer.

"What do you think happened to Red over there?" Blaze inquired.

"You were there, you saw that kid with the red sword. That kid was the Lich bearer for five months, so I'd think you'd recognize him by now."

"But The Lich isn't inside of him anymore, our scans showed that."

"Blaze, couldn't you see Red's green mist hanging over the kid? He was obviously under its influences."

"But being the Lich bearer for only five months shouldn't have given him enough power to defeat Red. Fredrick's been drinking Leech Wine for a decade!"

"You're right. What was it? Red easily overpowered that bitch in the main hall. That kid was only human!" The fire elemental pondered this, scratching his chin. Flame Princess walked out of the medical bay and continued to explore the large expanse of tunnels and hallways.

After minutes of searching, she found a door that was slightly cracked open. Walking inside, she found herself gaping at the treasures before her. Mounds of gold coins made up the majority of the room's contents, but she also discovered priceless weapons, trinkets, statues, and more recently, a box full of the royal gems. Flame Princess even saw her gem, which was still missing from her forehead.

It was in this instant that the dead fire elemental understood something: the Brotherhood could be anywhere, doing anything, all because they had seemingly limitless funding. Their reach could expand all across Ooo, and it would still in their budget. This treasure room topped her treasure room by at least ten-fold.

Flame Princess swiftly exited the room. She continued her investigation by sending out her heat sense again, searching for the highest concentration of people. Her eyes highlighted a mass cluster of living beings several stories below her. Instead of finding the path leading down, she simply melted through the floor.

As the deceased ruler made her way down the levels, she could've sworn she heard chanting and shouting. Sure enough, the final level was made up of a large, vacuous cavern. Looking down, Flame Princess saw hundreds, yes _hundreds_, of hooded figures all chanting and looking at a large screen on the side of the rock face.

On the screen showed a dark, hooded (obviously) figure with his face concealed by shadows. Looking closer, the dead fire elemental saw the face of her murderer, Black. The scene transitioned, showing an image of a figure she hadn't seen before.

The picture itself showed the figure standing up, his claws extended menacingly. His face was much less concealed, revealing a figure that looked very vampiric. His eyes were blood red, his skin a greyish blue. The figure had never been seen before by the princess, but it had been described to her. Well, it was described while she was in earshot, when Marceline told the story to Finn. There was no doubt. That was Green.

The image faded, transitioning to a checklist. There were four items on the checklist, and they seemed to be listed in chronological order.

'Retrieve the royal gems' was the first checked box. 'Reacquire the Never Blade' was the second. The other two, however, were not checked off. 'Find the Dark Lord or Find the Lich bearer' was the next item on the 'to do list'. This relieved the deceased ruler slightly, knowing that the Brotherhood had yet ti find the roaming conscious of The Lich.

The final checkbox read 'Conquer the Multiverse'. This last box shocked the princess. It seemed like a rather drastic step from finding their master. How could they possibly accomplish that?

IN PEPPERMINT BUTLER'S TORTURE ROOM

Blue felt the straps around her wrists before she even opened her eyes. She tugged hard, but her restraints refused to budge. The assassin attempted fading into the platform that she resided on, but her magical vaults were completely drained. Even her hair wasn't moving at all. Giving in to the helplessness of her situation, she opened her eyes.

In front of her was the Peppermint man that had previously defeated her. Next to him, however, was a figure she easily recognized: Princess Bubblegum. Half of the reason that they were here in the first place. Olivia craned her neck to look upon the monarch's head, only to see that she was missing her tiara. _At least we didn't completely fail this mission_.

The Peppermint man took notice of her coming to, and climbed onto a table so that he was at head height for the captured assassin.

"Hello, milady," calmly greeted the butler, "We have some questions to ask you. But first, I think you'd like to say goodbye to your beloved hair…" as he said this, Olivia took notice that her magical hair was completely removed from her head, making her bald.

The Peppermint man hale in his hand a jar of black hair that could only be hers.

"GIVE IT BACK YOU PYSCHO!" yelled Blue. That hair had been the only thing she had before she came to the Brotherhood, and she surely wasn't going let anything happen to it.

"It seems that we have a bargaining tip," said the servant, a hint of slyness added to his unusual accent, "Wouldn't you agree, princess?"

"I would, Peppermint Butler. Let's see how much information she's willing to give in order to save her hair…"

***AN* That took a lot longer than I expected to. Whatever. Now, I can finally get to the part of the story that I've been dying to get to! Anyways, thanks for reading and stuff. Did you enjoy this chapter? Did you have any unanswered questions left? Will The Lich resurface soon?**

** I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to criticize me, compliment me, answer one of the questions above (shameless advertising for the win!), or just comment in general, leave me a review. If you're feeling extra generous, why not follow/favorite this story? Regardless, I hope you have an excellent day.**

**-da br0909**


	19. Like Brother, Like Sister

***AN* Chapter 19 has entered the facility. It feels nice to be back on schedule. Thanks to B1BL10PH1L3 and DJMidge for reviewing last chapter. I'd also like to thank all of you who have read up to this point, for helping me achieve 2,000+ views! You guys inspire me to write more, better, and faster!**

** Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network and Pendleton Ward. Aside from the Original Characters and the plot, nothing portrayed in the fan fiction belongs to me. If you want to criticize me, compliment me, or just comment in general, then leave a review with your thoughts. If you're feeling extra generous, why not follow/favorite this story? Regardless, enjoy, review, and do what you will. Chapter 19 *horror movie music plays in the background***

A whisper was all it took. The kind words, the charismatic voice, the friendly tone. His eyes opened to find himself in a void of darkness. The whispering turned more hostile, seemingly louder and harsher than before. His breath was visible before him, his body shivering in the cold breeze. His sharp-tipped hands grasped his head, his eyes clenched tight with pain. He let out an animalistic scream, echoing through the expanse of nothing.

The whispers. They brought him here. They took him from his home and brought them to this glob-forsaken void. His yelling became louder and louder, attempting in vain to drown out the evil murmurs and voices. His hands formed claws, digging into his own head. Blood dripped from his wound, but he didn't care. As long as it silenced the whispers.

The dark hair that covered his head was soon being ripped from his scalp. The pain was unbearable, yet he had to stop the voices. No matter how much hair he removed, or how much he raked at his scalp, the whispers never stopped. He stopped his fruitless crusade of tearing into his skull and pulled his hands, now claws, in front of his face.

The pale color normally donning his appendages was now a crimson red. His blood was covering his sharpened hands in a sticky goo that smelled of salt. The hands that he now gazed upon gave him a most-excellent idea. The sharp claws shot at his eyes soon enveloping his vision. Hot blood oozing out of the hole left by the strike, he could no longer take the pain. He collapsed, unconscious. Maybe even dead…

IN A DARK ROOM

He awoke again to find himself sitting at a wooden table, surrounded by the same vacuous void. Mercifully, the voices in his head had ceased their crusade against his sanity. Opposite him was a familiar sight: his master. Long, skeletal hands protruded from the figure's sleeves and a hood shrouded his face.

"Hello again, Green. It's been a while, hasn't it?" the loud, ominous voice boomed across the void, but had no effect on his servant.

Green bowed his head, acknowledging his master's presence, "Yes, my lord. It's been too long. How did you escape that measly human? Is he no longer a threat?"

"This was not of my volition, Green. Ancient magic, perhaps older than I, had exorcised me from the host's body. His will rejected my presence, and I was sent into the winds."

"What brings you here, Dark One?"

"Green, call me by my real name, as I have no intention of being known as otherwise."

"Sorry, Lich King."

"Thank you. The closest habitable body was deep below the hospital building in which I resided. It was there where I found your lifeless corpse, almost a month old."

"You're here to inhabit my body?"

"Indeed."

The assassin leaned back into his wooden chair, "Why haven't you taken it yet?"

"In the process that I am going to leech myself into your body, it will destroy your conscious to the point beyond recovery. This is because you are already dead at this point. I came to simply ask for your consent, you being my closest ally throughout the centuries."

"Sir, you know that I would willingly sacrifice myself to you for any purpose that you desire. I thought I've made it perfectly clear throughout our long acquaintanceship."

"So you're consenting, correct?"

"Yes, my lord." The assassin spread his arms out and braced himself for an impact. Green felt a wave of pain enter his body, focusing primarily in his head. He had expected this pain, and clenched his teeth to stop him from screaming. He would look strong in his final moments.

The Lich breathed a sigh of relief, having used more energy in his transferal than he would've liked. The lord of evil opened his eyes, or Green's eyes rather, and looked at his surroundings. He was at the morgue, in a body bag. He narrowed his eyes, his unholy gaze literally burning through the thin bag encasing him.

The Lich moved himself out of his slot and looked around the room for something to wear. To his left was a box labeled "deceased clothing", so he decided to look there first. Opening the plastic container, he found what he was looking for: Green's assassin garments. The demon lord donned the clothes and promptly left the room.

"Good luck stopping me _this_ time, Finn the human…"

GRASS KINGDOM, 30 YEARS AGO…

Olivia ran through the burning streets in despair. Her mother, who was the only family member still alive in her family, was nowhere to be found. She had checked the homeless shelter where they resided, the restaurant where they would steal food, and she even checked the town prison. The young woman had no luck, however.

Olivia continued to dash through the town, still burning with the intensely hot flames. Had she looked to the rooftops, she would've seen a tall figure in a cloak watching her every move. The young girl, however, was not eyeing the rooftops and was instead scanning the streets desperately to find her mother.

That's when she heard the screams, "Olivia! Olivia!" The soon-to-be assassin turned her head in the direction of the sound. Atop a building, opposite the one the assassin was perched, was her mother. She was surrounded in flames, and they were too high to simply run through.

Seeing only one option, Olivia ran into the wall directly below her mother. Fading herself at the last second, she soon found herself a silhouette. She swam up the second-dimensional wall and reached the building's roof. Olivia popped out of the roof and looked to face her mother, the flames closing in on her position.

Olivia suddenly felt an alarming pain shoot up her side. She turned, only to find a rampant fire elemental blasting her side. The Shadow Mongerer faded herself back into the floor, as was her natural reaction to intense damage. As she awaited her wounds to heal, as they always do when she hides in a flat surface, she watched helplessly as her mother was mercilessly assaulted by the destructive flame-person.

The soon-to-be assassin felt rage boil up inside her. Her mother lay motionless on the ground, and her killer laughing triumphantly. This laughter stopped when he felt a hand coil around his ankle and literally pull him into the ground.

Ignoring the pain in her hand, Olivia launched the fire elemental deeper into the void. Deeper, and deeper, until she herself was gasping for breath. The Shadow Mongerer gazed down at her mother's killer, who had run out of oxygen due to the pressure exerted on him deep within the second-dimension, not to mention the extreme cold temperatures.

Olivia swam herself towards the surface. Grasping the ceiling above her, she concentrated intensely until her surroundings felt much warmer. The Shadow Mongerer reopened her eyes to find that she had resurfaced, only to be met with a terrible sight: her mother's charred and severely burned corpse.

The soon-to-be assassin fell to her mother's side, balling her eyes out. She had been at Olivia's side through everything: Father's death, the Q-outbreak, and even during burning down of their home. The Shadow Mongerer saw the tears drop to the ground by her mother's side, and let herself wallow in anguish.

Then, Olivia felt a hand fall to her shoulder. A comforting gesture, calm and friendly in its tone. She silenced her cries momentarily to see the source of the friendly hand. The Shadow Mongerer turned her face to a sight that would eventually be a friendly and reassuring one: The face of a pale, dark haired man about her age smiling warmly at her.

"My name is Green, and I think I can help you." Declared the stranger. Olivia could barely move, so she had trouble responded to his declaration.

"H-h…how c-can you? Sh-she's dead!" The Shadow Mongerer was yelling by the time she finished her last sentence. Almost as if she was blaming her death on this stranger.

"I'll show you." Stated the vampiric figure. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a vial of dark green liquid. "This is called a Soul Serum, and it transfers the soul of a dead or dying person into an inanimate object so that they can live on."

The Shadow Mongerer was still in disbelief, but found herself able to form words easier than before, "What will you transfer her to?"

"Your hair. That way, she is still connected to your brain so she can speak to you to you directly."

"Will this really work?" the soon-to-be assassin was really hoping that this stranger, Green, was telling the truth.

"Yes. I warn you: the process may be a bit gruesome. You may want to look away." Olivia obliged, turning her head away from Green's ritual. In actuality, Green was sucking the soul of the dead mother into his own body. The Soul Serum was extract from the Well of Power, effectively making it a more potent Leech Wine.

Applying the Leech Wine into the girl's hair would not only give it a malevolent spirit, but feed evil suggestions directly into Olivia's mind. The Shadow Mongerer would soon become desensitized to the will of the evil hair and become truly evil on her own. Green smiled, knowing how proud his master would be when he returned with a recruit so full of potential…

FINN'S POV

It was mere minutes after coughing himself into submission that he reawakened himself. He was grasped in the arms of Marceline the vampire queen, who the hero could tell was zooming down hallways at high speeds. Finn felt light-headed, as if he had lost a large amount of blood. The odd part was that he _knew_ that he wasn't bleeding.

Due to his light-headedness, the hero couldn't do much more than open his eyes, much less talk or move on his own. At least he wasn't angry anymore. Finn blushed, remembering how mad he'd gotten back in the hall. It was embarrassing to say the least, as the hero's strict Code of Honor rarely allowed him to lose his cool.

After a couple of minutes of simply resting in the vampire queen's arms, Finn was able to groan. Marceline's hyper-sensitive ears detected the noise and the vampire queen slowed her flying until she had stopped in the middle of a hallway. Finn's muscles were completely sore, having been locked in an uncomfortable position for several minutes while he was whisked down the hall.

"I see you're finally awake, Finn." The vampire queen set down the human, who was barely able to hold himself up in a sitting position. She was only met with more groans from her human companion. "Can you even talk, Finn?" although her question was stated in her sarcastic tone, her tone let across a genuine feeling of actual curiosity.

Although weakly and slowly, Finn was able to respond, "My…pack…" Needing no further instruction, the vampire queen took the two-shaded green backpack off of the hero and rummaged through his belongings.

"What am I supposed to look for in here?" Not even looking up, Marceline continued to search through his pack until something dry and sticky brushed against her arm. Pulling out the odd item, the half-demon was able to easily discern it: Finn's lock of Bubblegum's hair. "You still have this, Finn? You're 16! You need to get over her."

Finn blushed heavily, but mustered out a response to her first question, "Me-medicine." Understanding, the vampire queen turned her attention back to the bag of Finn's stuff. After about half a minute of looking (it seemed as though the bag was ((Doctor Who reference)) bigger on the inside), Marceline located the small container of pills. On its label was a stick figure, coughing and wheezing.

"That's…th-the one." Finn rolled himself over to the best of his impaired-ability so he was facing the vampire queen. She brought over the pills, taking one out and placing it in her hand. She commanded the human to open his mouth, and he obliged. She placed the orange pill in his mouth, handing the hero a bottle of water to wash it down.

Finn swallowed the pill, and the vampire queen could see an immediate improvement on Finn's face, "Thanks, Marcy." Although the hero's speech was now fixed, his body was still heavily drained and could barely move at all."

"You're welcome, you big weenie."

"The biggest weenie in all the land." Sarcastically, yet gentlemanly replied Finn as he bowed his head.

"Oh, Finn. I've been meaning to ask."

"Ask away, milady!"

"What happened earlier when you attacked that assassin?"

***AN* I finished! I know that I said I would be writing an interesting chapter this time, but I decided to make a filler chapter to elaborate on Blue's background so the next few chapters will make more sense. So yeah, hopefully I get into the good stuff next chapter.**

** What do you think is going to happen next? Will Green/The Lich cause more mayhem? Will Blue/Olivia reveal the Brotherhood's secrets to save her magical hair? Will I be able to put off explaining Finn's rage mode for yet another chapter?**

** I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to answer one of the questions above, criticize me, compliment me, or just comment in general, leave a review. If you're feeling extra generous, why not follow/favorite this story?**

** SERIOUS QUESTION: Should I rewrite the first few chapters? I reread them recently, and I saw that they weren't very good. If I did this, the updates would count towards y 2-4 day schedule. Comment your thoughts. I hope you have an excellent day.**

**-da br0909**


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